Total Drama Continuation
by jayhawx
Summary: AU story starting from where "Ocean's Eight-Or Nine" leaves off. The adventure challenge ends with a thrilling finish, but uncertainty in the voting prompts Chris to reveal his most difficult challenge yet...
1. E14,P1:Giant Boulders of Incredible Pain

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

**Note: ** I decided to start writing this story about three-quarters of the way through TDA. I pretty much didn't like how nearly every character changed for the worse. I like character development as much as the next guy, but this was just wrong. There are some parts to this story that I made up way before TDA finished, including the elimination order. In some instances, I decided to borrow some elements from the second half of TDA (as you may notice in this first chapter). There's only one major plot element (regarding an elimination) that I'll end up borrowing from that part of TDA, but I've got a specific reason for doing so. But that's enough out of me for now. I hope you enjoy this story. :)

* * *

Episode 1, Part 1-Giant Boulders of Incredible Pain

"Audio log. Day 20. September 10, 2009. Time…around 7:49 A.M. It's go time."

A shady figure stood at the entrance of the abandoned film lot, looking at the numerous studios that laid before him. The figure was male, 17 years old, about 6 feet tall, and sported a large trench coat, a fedora, and sunglass to conceal his identity. His arms were not in his sleeves. Rather, they were at his sides, with his right hand clutching a tape recorder.

As he stepped into the lot, he turned toward the outskirts of the studios. There held the headquarters for the new reality show that has an unprecedented number of Canadians and Americans glued to their TV sets. No, seriously, this show gets more viewers than the Disney Channel, and THAT'S saying something. "Total Drama Action" was the name, and you can bet that it's filled with drama and action. Not so sure about the "total" part, though.

The mystery man ended up in front of the so called "craft services tent". It was actually filled with crap that the cook tries to pass as food. The figure dived into a bush so that he'd avoid getting caught by the "authorities" around here. Peering inside through a window, he saw eight teenagers-three boys and five girls-attempting to eat said crap.

"_Sucks to be them," _he thought as he pulled out his tape recorder. Now was the time to complete his objective here. He pressed the record button and started speaking softly into the recorder. He _really_ wanted to make sure he didn't get caught.

"Here we have the eight contenders left standing in the second season of the Total Drama series," he began. "The teams are currently even in numbers, but I can't say the same in terms of skill. The team sitting at my left is the Screaming Gaffers, and they are absolutely dominating this contest. I'd say that one of them could very well win it in the end. On the other end of the tent are the Killer Grips. To say that they've been sucking at this game would be a gross understatement. Out of the last nine challenges, they only won a single challenge, and the only reason that they even won in that episode was because one of the Gaffers threw the challenge and practically gave up in this game. Let me tell you, they NEED the other team to sabotage themselves in order to win. Haha! Is it even possible for a team to be this bad?!?"

The boy realized what he just did and quickly covered his mouth in panic. He recorded those last few sentences rather loudly and unprofessionally. Thankfully, it didn't seem that anyone was alerted by that outburst.

"Uh…anyway, I guess the only explanation for the Gaffer dominance would have to be the fact that they're stacked. First, they've got Harold. He might not look like a contender, but he's proven himself on multiple occasions. Heck, he even saved everyone's lives in one challenge. That's pretty damn good if you ask me. Then there's Heather, Duncan, and Leshawna, who were all a part of the top five last season. It's needless to say how good they are at this game."

The boy looked inside the tent and saw the four Gaffers sitting at the left table. Well, they weren't exactly sitting. Leshawna and Heather spent most of the time glaring at each other. Duncan placed a few worms in Harold's food, which made him vomit upon taking a bite. This prompted Leshawna to tackle Duncan to the ground out of anger. Duncan, on the other hand, was laughing his ass off.

"Despite their strengths, their teamwork is somewhat questionable," the boy remarked as he watched the unexpected scene unfold. Then he looked toward the other table, where the members of the Killer Grips were sitting. Beth and Lindsay were chatting it up, as usual. Justin was trying to look at his reflection in a spoon. Courtney was glaring at someone at the other table, but it was hard to tell exactly who.

"Sadly, I can't say that the Killer Grips are that much better off. There's Lindsay, who follows the dumb blonde stereotype a bit too well. There's Justin, who's too obsessed with his looks to actually give a damn about this contest. There's Courtney, who…just got here. I know she was unfairly voted off last season, but for Pete's sake, she skipped half of the game! Not cool man, not cool. Finally, there's Beth, who…uh…what did she do again? Dammit, I lost my train of thought!"

"I knew you'd be back dude. What did I say about trespassing?"

The boy turned around and saw the host, Chris McClean, standing just a few feet away from him. He looked pretty peeved that this guy snuck onto the set…again.

"Uh…exactly how long were you standing there?" the boy asked. His knees were shaking. He was really panicking now.

"Let me tell for the last time, dude. If ANYONE from the FFB dares to set foot on this set again, I won't be afraid to use lethal force. I have the authority to use nuclear weapons, you know," the sadistic host said. He wasn't messing around here. If he didn't care for the lives of the contenders, why should he care for the lives of those less important?

"Dude, there's no way in hell that the FFB is listening to you," the boy adamantly responded.

"Well, I can't guarantee your survival this time. It's time you got reacquainted with my security team. " Chris pulled a whistle out of his pocket and blew it. He had a really huge grin on his face for what was to come.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A battle cry was heard from the tent. This made the boy cringe in fear.

"Oh crap! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna frickin' die!" the boy yelled as he hauled ass toward the exit. He could've beaten Usain Bolt with the kind of speed he was going.

Out of the tent came none other than Chef, who was carrying his trusty old cleaver (the same one that nearly killed Geoff in the first episode of season one). Obviously, Chris was too cheap to afford an actual security team, so he just got Chef to scare the crap out of anyone who trespassed. Chris just chuckled to himself as Chef was about to toss his cleaver like a tomahawk. He nearly hit the target too.

* * *

Due to the incident, filming for the next episode had to be delayed for a few minutes. Chris wanted more time to fix his hair, but that would take a good ten hours. Time doesn't grow on trees, you know. As the cameras started rolling, Chris kicked off the episode with his usual recap.

"Last time on Total Drama Action, the competitors squared off in a bank heist challenge. The Gaffers decided to leave poor Leshawna in the vault. I could've penalized them for that, but I found it kind of funny. I mean, it did make for good TV. The highlight of the last challenge was definitely Owen going absolutely berserk! That was just awesome…except for the fact that Marvel Comics nearly sued us for copyright infringement. I didn't see anything that ripped off any of their comics! What the hell, man?"

"Oh yeah, and Courtney returned to the contest. I don't think it's that important though." As soon as Chris said, about 10,000 fangirls from all across Canada screamed their lungs out. "Ouch! Damn fan girls. How do they even know I'm saying any of this stuff anyway? Whatever. The Screaming Gaffers ended up winning for like the tenth straight time. Maybe not tenth, but they sure have a huge winning streak going. At the end of the day came the most dramatic Gilded Chris Ceremony to date. Courtney sued us for immunity, the little bi…I mean, that darn rascal," Chris corrected. The last thing he wanted was for the censors to jump all over him.

"Despite getting just a single vote, Owen got the boot, but not after giving one of the most memorable speeches in the history of reality TV…I swear, he had to have been high or something. The teams are now even at four apiece. Who will win today's reward? Will Courtney try to sue us for it? And when will those f'ing fangirls shut the hell up? Find out the answers to these exciting questions on Total…Drama…Action!"

* * *

"How many times do I have to tell you, NEVER mess with my boy Harold!" Leshawna exclaimed as she started to throttle Duncan.

Duncan was too busy snickering to care about how Leshawna was about to pound him. "Oh come on! You got to admit, it was kind of funny," Duncan said in retaliation.

"I bet you also thought it was kind of funny to leave me in that safe, didn't you!" Leshawna yelled, clearly still angered by the previous episode's events.

Heather started to get real annoyed by the two of them. "Could you guys stop acting like barbarians for two seconds? This definitely won't help us in the next challenge."

"Please, we all know that you'll just rely on us for the team challenges. Once the merge happens, there's no doubt that you'll stab us in the back," Leshawna replied. Unsurprisingly, the bad moments of season one were burned into her memory. Harold returned to the table shortly after he finished hurling, and looked at Duncan as he continued to uncontrollably laugh on the floor.

"All right! It wasn't that funny! Gosh!" Harold shouted. "How would you like it if I put worms in your food!"

"Try that and see what happens!" Duncan threatened. His expression quickly changed to a serious one as he help up a fist close to Harold's face. Harold knew that it would be stupid to walk himself into a fight with one of the strongest people on the island, so he backed off.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Harold: Sure, Duncan and I seem like mortal enemies, but I think that our rivalry has brought out the strongest in each other. It's only a matter of time before he recognizes that my mad skills are not meant to be messed with.

Duncan: If that dweeb honestly thinks I'll be laying off him anytime soon, he's got another thing coming.

* * *

"Isn't it great that we get along so much better than those guys?" Beth asked her new BFFFL.

"Totally! I mean, could the other team be any less nicer to each other?" Lindsay responded.

"Oh, will you two just shut up!" Courtney shouted. Beth and Lindsay jumped in surprise. "What's the point of being nice to each other if you guys can't even win any challenges? Don't think I don't know about how badly this team is sucking right now."

"You're still bitter about the whole vote-switching thing, aren't you?" Beth asked. "Maybe it would be better if you just forgave-"

"There's no way I'm forgiving that cheating nerd Harold! I mean, he went and voted out one of the smartest people on the Killer Bass. That just guaranteed that one of the Gophers would win season one," Courtney said.

"I'm pretty sure you would have been voted out anyway," said Lindsay. "You weren't exactly the most likable person…" Lindsay started as Courtney started glaring at her. "I'll be quiet now," she said with a sad face

"Ugh…Justin! What do you think about our situation right now?" Courtney asked, expected an intelligent response out of him.

Justin briefly snapped out of his stare-fest with himself in order to respond. "Oh…I think we need to pull it together and start winning…or something…I don't know" Justin answered unenthusiastically. Courtney buried her face in her hands. All hope seemed lost for this team.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Courtney: I seriously hate my team right now. None of them are actually focused on the game! It looks like I'm on my own here. Seriously, it sucks to be separated from Duncan like this…wait. Did I actually say that? You guys better edit that part out, or you can expect another lawsuit!

Chris: Oh Courtney. You don't know me that well, do you?

Justin: Well, now that there's another lady on this team, it's only a matter of time before I get a little more help toward winning the million. *winks*

* * *

The tension in the room was broken when Chris finally entered, ready to start today's challenge. "What up, castmates? Are you ready for the most difficult and brutal challenge EVER!?!" This question was immediately met with groans from the eight competitors.

"Oh well, I suppose you're all still reeling in shock from yesterday's incredibly dramatic episode, aren't you?" Chris proudly said.

"Not really," Duncan responded. "Heck, I'm kind of glad Owen's gone. His constant complaining over his inability to eat really got on my nerves."

"And I'm sure the fact that he's the reason you lost last season has nothing to do with it," Heather remarked.

"Oh, just shut the hell up."

"Ahem! Will you guys quit stealing my camera time?" Chris asked. Duncan merely narrowed his eyes at Chris. "Anyway, before I start, there's a matter that needs to be addressed."

"Does it have to do with how Chef ran out of the tent screaming?" Beth inquired.

"No! That's not even important, so just forget it ever happened!" Chris exclaimed. All of the competitors were left with confused looks on their faces. "This has to do with that lawsuit that Courtney filed against us. Apparently, her lawyer and the producers came to the agreement that I won't have any money taken out of my precious paycheck if we gave her this." Chris pulled out a PDA and handed it to Courtney.

"Thank you Chris," Courtney said, smiling proudly.

"Wow…that's real cheap. As if bypassing twelve challenges wasn't enough" Heather bitterly said.

"Hey, I could've easily gotten more stuff, but this thing right here is all I'll need to win." Courtney said as she waved her PDA around.

"Please, at least I can get far in the game without having to resort to outside resources."

"At least I was much better liked than you."

"Now I KNOW that's not true. Plus, I don't care about likability. I care about popularity."

"You do realize that likability and popularity kind of go together, right?"

"All I know is that I'm way more popular than you are!"

"Are you kidding me? My fanbase is ten times bigger than yours!"

"That's a lie and you know it."

"Nice! Looks like we got a catfight!" Duncan exclaimed with glee. That outburst earned him a slap in the face by Courtney.

"What did I just say about stealing the spotlight?" Chris complained. "Today's challenge will have a magnificent reward on the line-"

"If no one's going home today, why should we even be doing this?" Beth asked.

"Tell me about it girl," Leshawna said. "It's obvious that Chris is trying to extend the life out of this show."

"I am not! And the next person to interrupt me will be instantly kicked off the show!" Chris shouted.

"If it means skipping this dumb challenge, then fine." Courtney said. "Go on Harold, interrupt him."

"Why me?" Harold asked.

"Because we all know that you're the least deserving person here. After all, you needed to cheat just to eliminate me last time. There's no way you should still be here." Courtney stated.

"I beg to differ!" Leshawna said while rolling up her sleeve. Duncan could only use one hand to try to restrain her, while his other hand was rubbing his sore cheek. Needless to say, he wasn't very successful in doing so.

"Leshawna, stop it! There has to be another way to settle this dispute!" Harold yelled.

"Of course you'd say that. Grow a spine dude, and maybe some balls while you're at it!" Duncan countered.

"Agreed," Heather said. "Then again, he's not the only spineless person around here…" Heather looked toward her two former alliance members from season one, Lindsay and Beth. Lindsay was trying to chase a butterfly for no particular reason. Beth followed close behind. "No surprises here, I guess."

"Do I need to orchestrate the first-ever TRIPLE elimination on this show!?!" Chris shouted.

"Haha, I wouldn't mind THAT!" Courtney said enthusiastically. "Wait, you are talking about Harold, Leshawna, and Heather right?"

"I like how you didn't mention me there," Duncan said while wiggling his unibrow.

"Please, I'm sparing you just because there aren't enough eliminations to go around."

"That's it!" Chris screamed, clearly pissed off now. "Just for that, I'm making today's challenge so extreme that it borderlines illegality, if that's even a word." As usual, the contestants responded with much groaning.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Beth: Chris has become so power crazy lately. All that fame must be getting to his head. I hope none of us will become like that.

Justin: My strategy as of right now is to just sit back and watch everyone else tear each other apart. I don't even have to cause it; the fights will just start themselves. *leans back in chair* This game just got a whole lot easier.

Duncan: *chuckles* I know that Courtney wouldn't eliminate me even if she could.

Harold: I was afraid that Courtney would still be mad over the vote-switching incident. Don't worry though, I'll handle her and Duncan while I get the chance. Right now, I'm just focused on surviving the insane challenges that Chris throws at us.

Lindsay: Wow. It's amazing how everyone said that Cynthia would come back and she did. I wonder if Cory is coming back too. Everyone is saying that will happen, so it must be true, right?

* * *

"Alright castmates. Today's movie will take us back millions of years ago…to the Stone Age!" Chris exclaimed, trying to be as dramatic as possible.

"The Stone Age? Is that the time when everyone got stoned?" Lindsay asked. Leshawna, Duncan, and Heather all burst out laughing at that remark. Courtney face palmed after hearing this from her own teammate.

"Er…yeah, but it wasn't the good kind of stoned. The kind of stoning they probably did back then left you battered, bruised, and maybe even a little dead. I'm not sure. But enough of the history lesson!"

"Actually Chris, the Stone Age was when tools were created using stone," Beth corrected.

"Beth, you're just asking to get kicked off, but I'll spare you this time. Now follow me to Studio 14!" Chris said

Studio 14's setting was pretty simplistic in nature. It basically consisted of a huge grassy plain with a huge hill in the middle. The lighting was orange to give the place a sunset feeling. There were a few large rocks scattered here and there, but other than that, there wasn't much to it.

"Way to cheap out on us Chris!" Courtney complained. "There's practically nothing here!"

"Oh really?" Chris said with that huge grin on his face. You know the one I'm talking about.

Chris pressed a button on a remote that he seemed to pull out of nowhere. Some of the contestants winced, expecting that there would be an explosion or something, but nothing happened. Chef Hatchet walked into the studio, looking really sweaty for some odd reason.

"Oh hey Chef! Did you get that dumb kid this time?" Chris asked.

"Nope. I don't know where he gets that kind of speed. It's like something of a cartoon, man," Chef responded.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Beth asked out of curiosity.

"None of your flippin' beeswax, that who!" Chef shouted. Beth slowly backed away out of fear.

"Can we just get this dumb challenge over with?" Heather asked.

"Fine. Your challenge is to run WAY over there to those boulders," Chris said. The eight contenders looked in amazement as there were indeed two massive boulders on the far side of the studio.

"I'm pretty sure those rocks weren't there before," Leshawna said in bewilderment.

"The goal here is to push those boulders all the way to the top of the hill and through the goal posts," Chris continued as he pointed toward the two posts. Like the boulders, none of the contestants noticed the posts when they first walked in. "First team to accomplish this gets an advantage in part two of this challenge. Let me tell you, you'll probably lose without it. Any questions?"

Beth raised her hand. "Chris, don't you think this is a bit much?"

"Well the producers suggested a fire making challenge, but I'm thought that it was way too easy of a challenge. I mean, where's the chance of a serious injury?" Beth started to look a little nervous. "Any other questions?" Chris asked.

Lindsay raised her hand. "Uh…Chip? What happens if one of us breaks a nail over-"

"Yeah, don't care," Chris interrupted. "And…action!"

The eight teens jogged their way toward the boulders. Unsurprisingly, none of them looked enthusiastic about this challenge. Harold was the first to reach his team's boulder, but his efforts to push it were in vain. The boulder was twice as large as he was, and he couldn't even budge it an inch.

"Gosh! This boulder has to weigh several hundred pounds!" Harold cried. A disappointed Duncan shoved him to the ground.

"With arms like those, it's no wonder you're struggling," Duncan said, shaking his head. Now it was his turn to try his hand. Using every bit of strength he had, Duncan actually managed to move the boulder a few feet before he collapsed to the ground. They were still quite a distance from the hill.

"Alright big girl. It's your turn." Heather said, motioning to Leshawna.

"No way in heck am I pushing that thing!" Leshawna responded.

"Don't worry guys. I'll think of something," Harold said. "As soon as I regain my strength, we'll be moving at breakneck speeds."

"Let me guess. Your so-called 'mad skills' are going to lead us to victory," Heather said skeptically.

"Nope. Physics will," Harold said.

Meanwhile, over on the Grips' end, they were making even less progress than the Gaffers were. What a shock. In fact, none of them have even laid a hand on their boulder since the challenge started.

"Are you guys trying to tell me that none of you are physically fit enough to move this rock?" Courtney asked.

"You make it sound easy, but this is the most biggest rock I've ever seen!" Lindsay exclaimed.

Justin was lying on his back a few feet away from the others, expecting them to get the job done quickly. "Hey guys, could you get moving? The other team is going to beat us at this rate," he said without even looking at his team.

"Do you wanna actually get up off your ass and help us out!?!" Courtney asked in frustration. "Man, thank God the idiot who picked this team was voted off a long time ago."

"I think Justin's right. It looks like the other team is onto something," Beth pointed out. Indeed, the Screaming Gaffers were already halfway toward the hill. Harold managed to find a long, flat rock hidden somewhere in between the initial resting points of the two rocks. He slid the smaller rock under the boulder to use it for leverage. Then Leshawna jumped on the other end of the lever, with caused the boulder to move forward several feet. This process was repeated several times and gave the Gaffers a huge lead over the Grips.

"Wow, that's brilliant…uh, I mean, they totally got lucky there!" Courtney said. There was no way that she was admitting that Harold outsmarted her.

Chris walked over toward the Grips. "Well, it looks like the Gaffers found the tool needed to move their boulder. Don't worry. I'm a fair guy, so I placed another rock just like that one somewhere around here."

"Alright then. Beth and Justin, go find that rock!" Courtney commanded.

"I'm on it," Beth said with a salute. Justin, however, didn't respond. He had actually fallen asleep a few minutes ago.

"What do you want me to do?" Lindsay asked.

"Just try not to screw anything up," Courtney responded.

"I got it!" Beth yelled as she held up the rock in the air. Courtney grabbed the tool and attempted to mimic Harold's actions. There was one problem though: using the leverage from the rock requires weight, and they didn't have anyone nearly as heavy as Leshawna to provide that weight.

"Damn. We're screwed now," Courtney said, apparently on the verge of giving up.

"But Courtney, my mom says I'm supposed to wait until marriage for that!" Lindsay said. Courtney couldn't even dignify that with a response.

The Gaffers made it to the hill. Leshawna jumped on the lever in an attempt to move the boulder, but it remained stuck at the base of the hill.

"Nice one genius," Heather said sarcastically. "What bright idea do you have for us now?"

"I didn't think this far ahead. I'll try to look for another tool around here," Harold said as he ran off.

"Is it even possible to move this thing any further?" Duncan asked. "I can't think of anything that could help us now."

"There is one thing that could help you, punk boy," Chef said as he walked over to the Gaffers.

"And that would be…"

"There's a time limit on this challenge. If neither team completes the objective, then you guys win 'cuz you got to the hill first…or something. I dunno. It's a lame rule to me, but we gotta get moving along with this filming business."

"Is that supposed to be the _only_ way we can win? Sounds crappy to me."

"Yeah, well too damn bad!" Chef yelled as he walked off.

"Well, look at it this way," Leshawna said. "There's no way in heck that those other guys will make to the goal. So we just sit back, and wait for the time limit to run out."

Harold came back empty-handed, but he was relieved to hear that they really didn't have to do anything to win now. They all figured that waiting was better than getting injured while trying to complete the challenge.

"Hey there losers," Chris said as he walked up to the Killer Grips. "Nice to see that no one's broken their backs yet. Oh, by the way, if you don't get this boulder up that hill within the next half hour, the Gaffers win by virtue of distance traveled."

"Do you have a need to create BS rules on the spot?" Courtney asked.

"Yes. Yes I do," Chris said. "Well…I'd get moving if I were you."

"Hey Courtney, what if you, me, and Lindsay worked together to move that boulder?" Beth asked.

"Sounds corny," Courtney responded, "but it's better than doing nothing."

Chris turned to the camera. "Well, it looks like the Killer Grips are gonna try to stage a comeback. Will they be successful? Is Justin actually going to do anything? And are my BS rules brilliant or what? I should get an award for them, they're just that damn good. Anyway, tune in after the break for the exciting conclusion!"

* * *

Thnx for reading and plz review if you can. Any kind of review is fine by me. Praise, constructive criticism, flames, whatever the heck you want.


	2. E14,P2:That Thing Shouldn't Exist

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

**Note: **If any of you were wondering, nobody else is coming back. Not Owen, not Cody, not anyone. It's just the last eight contestants, and only them left in TDA. Don't worry, the other 14 will have their moments in the sun eventually. It won't happen for quite a while, but don't think I've forgotten all about them.

**Warning: **There's quite a bit of animated violence in this chapter. I know this is a T-Rated fic, but I just wanted to mentally prepare you guys. It could get ugly. Or maybe not. Just read and find out what I mean.

* * *

Episode 1, Part 2-That Thing Isn't Supposed to Exist Anymore!

"And we're back ladies and gentlemen!" Chris announced.

"I thought you said there was going to be a break or something," Lindsay said.

"Lindsay, don't you know how commercials work? That'll all be edited in. And do you know how many fanfics have used that joke already? It's really getting old…er, I mean, just disregard that last statement," Chris said. He got a real hefty fine the last time the fourth wall was shattered. It's a pretty important wall, you know.

"Can we just get on with this?" Courtney asked. "We don't have much time left here, and we've got to make it all the way to the goal!"

Courtney, Lindsay, and Beth all pushed down on the lever. Their combined strength actually moved the boulder farther than Leshawna could. Unfortunately, Courtney placed the lever too far to the left, so the boulder veered to the right. It came to rest a few yards away…right on top of Justin's left leg.

"OUCH!" Justin shouted. "What the heck are you guys trying to do?"

"Oh god! Tell me it didn't hit his face!" Beth shouted. Courtney ignored that statement and ran over to the boulder. Courtney managed to push the boulder a few inches, enough for Lindsay to pull Justin out from under it.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Courtney: Why in the heck couldn't that idiot actually help us out? This whole incident could have been avoided! Oh well. At least the most expendable out of the four of us got injured.

Justin: Now, this would have all been okay if there was some beautiful nurse to tend to my injury. Instead, I wind up with Chef. Great. That's just about the last person I'd trust with a broken leg.

* * *

"No way!" Chris shouted after hearing from a crew member about the incident. "Hurry up guys! He's this way! We got to get the viewers to see this!"

Justin's teammates could only stand back as the male model was swarmed by four cameramen. Chris held up a microphone and stood in between one of the cameras and Justin.

"Good afternoon faithful viewers. Ladies, are you just going to sit back and watch as the second-best looking person on the show-after me, of course-has a chance of getting pulled out of the game? Send in your donation in order to ensure that he receives the best medical attention possible and stays in the game. Call 1-800-782-5377 right now!"

"Don't you mean 1-800-SUCKERS!?" Courtney shouted from off-camera.

"How do you even know that's what it means?" Chris asked. "It could mean something else like…uh…well that's just not what it means!"

"I have to say Chris, this is pretty low. Even for you," Beth said.

"Oh relax! At least 20% of the proceeds will go toward Justin's medical care…maybe," Chris asked. "Now get going! You have about 15 minutes left!"

"Nice. This is exactly what we need. More time wasting," Courtney said sarcastically. "Where's that lever rock?"

"I think we left it back there," Lindsay answered.

"And do you know where 'back there' is?"

"Uh…no."

Courtney sighed in disappointment. They were doomed now. Courtney and Beth scrambled around the area in an attempt to find the precious tool, but no luck. Meanwhile, the Screaming Gaffers were relaxing, assured that they would win this part of the challenge.

"So…" Leshawna said, trying to start a conversation.

"Anyone going to Vancouver to see the Winter Olympics?" Harold asked.

"I'm not allowed to leave the province, sadly. This show is the only exception," Duncan said. "The only thing worth watching is ice hockey anyway. I can just catch it on TV."

"I'm not going," Heather said. "There's going to be a huge crowd of people anyway. That's way too much trouble for me to put up with."

"Yeah, that's pretty hard to manage, I guess…" Harold said.

"Are we really that desperate to pass the time that we're talking about something that has absolutely nothing to do with this game at all?" Heather asked.

"Hey, the Olympics are not to be reckoned with," Harold responded.

"Well, at least it's working. There should be like…five minutes left," Heather said.

"Here's what I'm thinking. What happens to us after the merge?" Duncan asked. "Are we all gonna turn on each other?"

"Maybe we could stay together as a team. You know, create an alliance amongst ourselves," Harold said.

"As much as I dislike all of you," Heather began, "I guess we would make one heck of an alliance."

Leshawna was still pretty bored, but she couldn't help but smile at this scene. For once, the team was relaxing and talking, instead of bickering about the most pointless subjects. It was a pretty rare occasion, to say the least. As usual, it was up to Chris to break up this moment.

"Okay dudes, forget the time limit!" Chris shouted through his trusty megaphone. "This challenge is officially over!" The Screaming Gaffers starting cheering thinking they had won.

"And the winners of the advantage for part two are…the Killer Grips!" The cheering from the Gaffers quickly turned into complaining. The Grips, on the other hand, looked confused.

"What the hell, McClean!?!" Duncan yelled. "Chef said that we would win for getting further!"

"Not to mention the other team barely moved their boulder past the starting point!" Harold added.

"Hey, hey, calm down guys," Chris said. That statement certainly didn't help, as the Gaffers were still pissed. "Don't you remember that rule from four episodes ago? The rule that clearly states that 'serious injury trumps all'?"

"But Chef didn't even cause the injury this time!" Leshawna complained. "They did it to themselves."

"For all I know, they could've done that on purpose just to get rid of Justin and win the challenge," Heather said.

"Oh man, that would just be the single greatest strategy ever conceived on this show. But no, it was on accident, and the injury isn't bad enough for Justin to be pulled out of the game. In fact, he still has to compete in part two of this challenge."

"With a broken leg!?!" yelled Justin from the distance. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Oh well. Free win, right?" Heather asked her teammates.

"Didn't you hear Chris before?" Leshawna responded. "We'll probably lose without that advantage."

"But that's never stopped us before," Harold remarked. "We can still win as long as we outplay them."

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Heather: It figures that Chris would cheat us out of a win yet again! At least there's a chance for us to win when it counts. I just wish their entire team got injured. That would show them not to manipulate the rules.

Harold: I've noticed that the team that gains the advantage in a challenge usually winds up losing. After all, who needs advantages when you have raw skill!

* * *

Because Justin was forced to continue competing, all Chef did was give him a crutch. Chris led the competitors to the opposite end of the studio. There was a giant door on the nearby wall, which was painted to look like a jungle. A small growling sound could be heard on the other end.

"I don't like the sound of that," Leshawna remarked.

"Oh just ignore it…for now," Chris said. The sadistic host handed each of the Killer Grips a long, jagged bone. "Back in the Stone Age, those bones would be used similarly to a Claymore blade. And for the losers…" Chris handed the Gaffers small bones, around dagger size.

"Let me guess. We're supposed to fight each other with these?" Heather asked.

"Nope. That was the original intent actually, but I figured that none of you would have it in yourselves to seriously hurt each other…except for Duncan, of course."

"You're damn right I would," the criminal said with a proud smile.

"I bet Courtney would…" Harold muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, he wasn't quiet enough.

"You wanna say that a bit louder!?!" Duncan shouted as he grabbed Harold's neck.

"No! No, it's quite alright."

"Anyway, your goal is to face the dangerous creature hiding behind this door over here. One person from each team will step up at a time. If you get eaten by the creature, the other team gets a point. Of course, you guys can just fight each other, and maybe even throw your opponent right into the creature's mouth. Don't worry, you'll live. I'm quite sure of it." The contestants weren't entirely convinced by Chris' "assurance".

"Obviously, the team with the most points wins the reward. There's a bonus objective to this challenge, though. If one of you actually manages to kill the…_unstoppable _thing behind this door, your team automatically wins."

"By the way Chris, you never mentioned what we were playing for," Duncan stated.

"That shall be revealed in due time, my friend," Chris said.

"I'm not your friend, dude," Duncan responded.

"Now, the pairs shall be chosen at random…and by that, I mean that I totally get to pick them. 'Cuz it's fun when I do it that way. First up are Lindsay and Leshawna!"

Leshawna reluctantly walked toward the giant door. Lindsay skipped toward the door, apparently oblivious to her surroundings. What else is new?

"Oh come on Latifa! How bad could this be?" Lindsay asked.

"Girl, did you hear the sounds coming from that door. This is gonna be dangerous as heck!" Leshawna said.

Indeed, Leshawna was right about that. Out of the door came one freakin' huge Tyrannosaurus Rex. Most of the castmates screamed in fear…except one.

"Hold on Chris!" said Harold. "The last T-Rex died well before the Stone Age began. About 40 million years before, to be exact."

"Yeah, but it would be too boring to use a Wooly Mammoth, or something like that," Chris said. "_This_ is something that the viewing audience would love. Who cares if we're historically inaccurate? Legends of the Hidden Temple was inaccurate too, yet everyone still loved that show."

"Yeah, I guess you got a point there," Harold conceded.

"Ready, set, and…action!"

Leshawna and Lindsay were desperately trying to escape the wrath of the T-Rex. Leshawna couldn't quite run as fast as Lindsay, so she decided to swipe at the dinosaur with her bone dagger. What resulted was a small geyser of red liquid gushing from its left foot.

"Oh, now that's just gross!" Leshawna screamed in disgust. "Why did y'all have to make it…thisrealistic…" Leshawna ended up fainting after being covered in the liquid.

"Nice! I thought Justin's injury would be the highlight of this episode, but I guess I was wrong," Chris said. "By the way, this T-Rex _is _a robot, but it's a damn convincing replica, if I do say so myself."

"Nice job Lindsay! You've won it!" Beth cheered while clapping her hands.

"Well I'll be damned…she actually did it," said a surprised Courtney.

"Hold on now! Leshawna hasn't been eaten by the T-Rex so it's not over yet," Chris said.

"But she can't even do anything. How can we lose?" Courtney asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

The Killer Grips watched as the T-Rex practically ignored the unconscious Leshawna and continued to chase after Lindsay. Eventually, Lindsay tired out, which gave the T-Rex a free shot at her.

"Oh, now that's just brutal!" Chris exclaimed as Lindsay was swallowed whole by the T-Rex.

"I see you actually got its sense of smell accurate," Harold said. "I'd imagine that Lindsay uses perfume on a regular basis, which would lure the T-Rex straight to her."

"Chris, you can expect a lawsuit if I don't get my teammate back in the next ten seconds!" Courtney threatened.

"Oh relax. Humans go right through this thing," Chris assured.

"What does that mean?"

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Leshawna: *still covered in red liquid* I swear, Chris made that dinosaur a bit TOO realistic, if you know what I mean.

Lindsay: I don't get it. I remember seeing the dinosaur's teeth one second, and then the next second I'm looking at its…tail? How does that happen?

* * *

"That…was disturbing," Heather said while covering her face.

"That dinosaur is amazing!" Duncan shouted.

"No surprise that you would like it," Heather replied.

"Okay, the Screaming Gaffers get one point. Next up is Heather and Beth," Chris said.

Beth was less than thrilled about going against Heather. In contrast, Heather was pretty happy with the matchup, believing that it would be an easy point.

"Well, this ought to be over quickly," Duncan said, smiling.

"Hey, don't underestimate our team!" Courtney retaliated. "We can still win this!"

"I can't wait to see the bloodshed…and the aftermath. Yeah, that'll be hilarious," Chris said while chuckling. "And…action!"

The T-Rex let out a huge roar, letting the rest of the competitors know that Lindsay alone did not satisfy his hunger. This was reason enough for Beth to start sprinting in the opposite direction, screaming at the top of her…oh yeah, she can't scream. In the process, she ended up dropping her bone sword.

"And this just guarantees my victory," Heather proudly said as she picked up the sword. The T-Rex started to charge straight for her. Heather stuck out the sword in front of her and let the T-Rex run straight into it, which created a huge gash in his stomach. Some more red liquid starting pouring out from the wound.

"Ugh…Chris, you do realize kids might end up watching this, right?" Courtney said, desperately trying not to puke at the sight.

"I know. I can't wait to see the look on their parents' faces! Then they'll complain about this show, which will get us even more publicity!" Chris exclaimed.

"Or this show could end up getting banned from television."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Chris, would you declare my team the winner already?" asked Heather. "I'm pretty sure this gross dinosaur is dead already."

"Just because you're 'pretty sure' doesn't mean that it is," Courtney responded.

Without Heather noticing, the T-Rex slowly got up behind her. Angered, the T-Rex immediately dove at Heather and ate her.

"YEAH! In your face!" Courtney shouted, pointing at Duncan.

"Hey, I just said that this would be over quickly. I didn't say that Heather would win," Duncan said with a smug expression on his face.

"Yeah, well…you guys still suck!" Courtney retaliated.

"Says the person whose team is on one of the biggest losing streaks ever seen on reality TV since Survivor: Fiji," Duncan replied.

"I have no idea what you're talking about dude," Chris said. "All I do know is that it's all tied up 1-1. And Heather should be coming out any second. Oh look! There she is! That never gets old!"

"You suck! How could you possibly screw this one up?!" Duncan shouted.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Beth: I can't believe that I managed to beat Heather. It's about time she got what was coming for her after all the mean things she did last season. I think I can win the whole game this time, now that I know I can compete with everyone else.

Heather: I find it completely unfair that all Beth does is run away, and she wins the point. Meanwhile, I actually have the guts to fight that beast head on, and all I get is ridicule. Duncan is so paying for that.

* * *

"Do you really have to make the victims…uh, go out the other end?" Courtney asked.

"Obviously. Now that Heather has been…ahem...'expelled', it's time for our next matchup: Harold vs. Justin."

"Do I seriously have to fight this thing in my current condition?" Justin asked. "I may as well just surrender the point altogether."

"Do that, and I assure you that you'll be the next person out of here," Courtney threatened.

"C'mon Harold! You got this one!" Leshawna cheered.

"And if you don't, I'm gonna pound you so hard that-" Duncan didn't finish his threat, as Leshawna had shoved him to the ground.

"Alright dudes. I want to see a dead dinosaur by the end of this challenge. Don't disappoint me now!" Chris said. "And…action!

The T-Rex went for Justin first, but stopped dead in its tracks after getting a good look. You guessed it. Justin was smiling that gorgeous smile of his and flexing his muscles, all while his theme music was playing in the background. No idea how that's possible…it just was. Almost instantly, the T-Rex backed off.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Harold yelled as the dinosaur started chasing after him.

"Good luck with that!" Justin said as he ran off. Even with the crutch, he was surprisingly agile.

"Wow. Justin looks so hot when he's running," Beth said.

"You have to admit, he does look rather attractive," Courtney added.

Duncan was definitely not happy to hear that. "Harold, kick his ass already!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do here?" Harold responded. Harold suddenly devised a strategy. He ran over toward Justin with the T-Rex tailing him just a few yards away.

"Do you really think that dinosaur is gonna choose to eat me over you?" Justin asked. Harold caught up to Justin and tripped him. When the T-Rex was within striking distance, Harold threw his bone dagger and hit it in the chest, not too far from the wound that Heather inflicted. The T-Rex roared in pain. Harold used the opportunity to pick up Justin and throw him right into the T-Rex's wide open mouth.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Harold: I have to say, I even surprised myself there. Thankfully, my mad knife-throwing skills ended up saving the day! There was no way I was letting Justin get by with just his looks. He has got to actually work to get far in this game.

Justin: I sure have gotten my butt kicked today. I could lose my influence over the girls if this abuse keeps up. Soon I won't have my good looks to fall back on.

* * *

"Holy crap! Where did he get that kind of strength?" Duncan asked in amazement.

"What can I tell you?" Leshawna replied. "Harold may be a skinny boy on the outside, but he's all man on the inside."

"Not so sure about that last part, but thank goodness that a-hole Justin got eaten," Duncan said.

"As much as I now love Justin for making me 15,000 bucks richer, Harold wins the point. It's 2-1 now, with the Screaming Gaffers in the lead. Can the Grips come back? I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't," Chris said.

"Of course we'll come back. I'm up next!" Courtney stated.

"Yeah, because that's a guarantee that you'll win," Duncan replied sarcastically.

"By the way Courtney, you pretty much need to kill the T-Rex in order to win," Chris said.

"What? Why? Wouldn't it be a tie if I won the next round?" Courtney asked.

"Yes, and the tiebreaker depends on the outcome of the first part of the challenge. Because the Gaffers were at a disadvantage and still managed to do this good, they'll win the challenge in the case of a tie."

"Dammit Chris! Is it possible for you to get through a challenge without making up a BS rule?" Courtney complained.

"Haha…no. Now get over there. If you're as good as you claim to be, that dinosaur will be dead within seconds," Chris said.

"Duncan, just use the same strategy as I did, and you've got this," Harold said.

"Nah…let's make this interesting. I'll go for the kill here," said Duncan.

"No way! Why go for something that we don't need?" Heather asked.

"Maybe I don't want Courtney to get eaten. Did you ever think of that?" Duncan retaliated.

"Where the heck is Jacob anyway?" Lindsay asked. "Shouldn't he be out by now?"

"Apparently the T-Rex is refusing to give him up," Chris said. "Come on you dumb dino! That's not healthy, you know. You'll clog up your whole system if you refuse to let him out!"

"This is getting more disgusting by the minute," Leshawna muttered. Eventually the T-Rex decided to "purge" Justin.

"Go man go! Go man go!" Duncan chanted. Heather slapped him across the back of the head for that remark.

"Even in an awkward position, he looks _so_ hot, doesn't he Beth?" Lindsay asked.

"I'd never grow tired of looking at him," Beth said as she swooned over Justin.

"Now that that's over with, it's time for the grand finale. Duncan vs. Courtney! This is a battle for the ages, folks," Chris said, overdramatizing things as usual.

The T-Rex roared right in Duncan's face. "Heh, you don't frighten me, you dumb pussycat!" Duncan said, keeping his composure. Courtney gripped her sword tightly. Her strategy was to end this fight quickly.

"And…action!"

Courtney didn't mess around here. She threw her bone sword at the dinosaur, which impaled it in the neck. Red liquid was sprayed onto both her and Duncan. Out of curiosity, Duncan decided to taste it.

"Duncan, you pig! That's so gross!" Heather shouted.

"You're damn right this is gross. It's Kool Aid. Really old Kool Aid. I mean seriously, this just doesn't taste right," Duncan responded.

"I knew it wasn't blood!" Harold declared. "That liquid was nowhere near dark enough to be blood. Chris, you could've done a lot better with the special effects."

"Yeah, like that matters. Come on! I want to see somebody die here! I don't care who, just somebody…" Chris said. That statement prompted funny looks from the six spectators.

"Crap, that probably wasn't one of my better ideas," Courtney said. Not only did she lose her weapon, the T-Rex was right within range to take a bite out of her.

"This is getting way too boring," said an impatient Chris. He pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Chef! Send in the air support!"

Within seconds, the sky was filled with pterodactyls. Each pterodactyl had a coconut in its claws. I suppose you can figure out from there what happens. Chris' "air raid" ended up raining coconuts down on Courtney, Duncan, and the T-Rex.

"Ow! Ow! This serious hurts you know!" screamed Courtney. "I could get a concussion or something!"

"Chris, as soon as I kill this T-Rex, you're a dead man!" Duncan shouted, trying to shield himself from the hailing coconuts.

"Not if I kill it first!" Courtney retaliated.

"With what? You don't even have a weapon!" Duncan said. He'd soon regret saying that. While he was busy avoiding the falling coconuts, Courtney tackled him to the ground and stole his bone dagger.

"Die cretin!" Courtney yelled as she charged toward the T-Rex. She got around it and stabbed it in the back multiple times, getting sprayed in the face with more Kool Aid, but it seemed to have no effect. The T-Rex quickly spun around, knocking down Courtney in the process. Courtney dropped the dagger as the T-Rex lifted her with its mouth.

"No way in hell are you doing that to Princess!" Duncan shouted as he dove for the bone dagger. He leaped into the air and slit the T-Rex's neck. As even more Kool Aid flowed out, the T-Rex dropped Courtney and fell to ground, badly injured, but still breathing.

"Hasn't this thing lost all of its blood? How much more can it take?" Harold asked.

Duncan was more concerned with Courtney. "Princess! Tell me you're not hurt."

"I could, but I'd be lying," she responded. Courtney had a couple of bruises after getting poked by the T-Rex's teeth, but was otherwise just fine.

The T-Rex started to slowly get up. Duncan didn't want to give it a chance this time. Without even looking, he threw the bone dagger over his shoulder and hit the T-Rex square in the eye, finally putting an end to its life.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Duncan: That had to be one of the most irritating challenges I've ever participated in. I officially hate robots now. I'm absolutely sure a real dinosaur would've died in the first round. Of course, Chris had to make him WAY too freakin' powerful. Not to mention that thing could've really hurt Courtney. I'll get my revenge on Chris one of these episodes.

Courtney: And that's yet ANOTHER loss for my team. That's what…6 in a row now? We seriously need to turn it around by the time the next challenge comes. There's invincibility at stake, and considering my idiotic teammates nearly voted me off in the last episode, I'm really going to need it.

Harold: *buries his face in his hands* I don't believe it! Duncan's knife-throwing skills far outclass my own! How am I supposed to defeat him at this rate?

* * *

Duncan extended a hand toward Courtney, who immediately took it. "Come on Princess, I know you can do better than that." Courtney smiled in response…before giving him a swift punch in the gut.

"Owwwwwch!" Duncan screamed. "That kind of came out of nowhere!"

"Don't think I don't know what you did with Gwen while I was away. That's not funny, you know!" Courtney shouted as she stormed off.

"What in the heck are you talking about?" Duncan asked in disbelief.

"Oh man, it must suck to be you!" Chris mocked. "Well, you did more than what was necessary, but no matter. The Screaming Gaffers have won today's reward!"

"I don't feel like I've won anything," Duncan said as he was clutching his stomach.

"Of course you have!" Chris said. "You've won a huge barbecue feast! Isn't your team going to love you for that?"

"Who cares about freakin' food! Who do you think I am? Owen? Just shove off, prick," Duncan grumbled as he pushed Chris away.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Duncan: I don't know where Courtney got the idea that there was something going on between me and Gwen. Whoever was responsible for this is gonna end up in a wheelchair real soon! I guarantee it! *grabs stomach* Seriously though, that girl knows how to throw a punch, and this is coming from a person who's been in about a hundred fist fights.

Leshawna: Even if he has been picking on poor old Harold, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Duncan during that moment. I don't know what's wrong with that girl, but I'm not just gonna stand by and let her push around her own teammates and mine. Next episode, she'll be out of here!

* * *

The Killer Grips returned to their trailers after the challenge was over. The Screaming Gaffers stayed behind to enjoy their feast. Laid on the table was nearly every barbecued meat imaginable: chicken, beef, pork…if it could be covered in barbecue sauce, it was there. Most of the Gaffers enjoyed nearly everything the feast had to offer, except Duncan, who took a chicken leg and walked right back to his trailer.

"Man, these rewards rock!" Heather said as she took a bite out of some barbecued chicken wings.

"This has to be the best reward yet!" Leshawna exclaimed. "You can't help but wonder, though, why we had to risk life and limb just for some food."

"It's not so much about getting the rewards ourselves, it's about demoralizing the enemy," Heather said. "That's what makes them that much more vulnerable to whatever strategy you plan on using against them."

"You sure seem to getting a kick out of that," Harold said while chewing on some ribs. "Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

"Not really. We earned it, and they didn't. If they can't win challenges, that's their own damn fault."

"Chef! He's back! Get over here!"

Those shouts came from one of the cameramen. Chef came running to scene, with his cleaver in hand once again.

"What'd he do, man? More importantly, where'd he run off to?" Chef asked in a hurry.

"He was standing around camera #3. I think he might have been trying to sabotage it. Anyway, he ran toward the south exit. I think there's still time to…" Chef didn't catch the rest of that sentence as he already started booking it toward the door.

"What was that all about?" Heather asked.

"We'd better just ignore it," Leshawna replied. "It could be a pest problem…or maybe a GIANT pest problem," she said, looking creeped out at her own words.

"I find that highly unlikely," Harold stated.

* * *

"Now that yet another challenge is down, it's time for the teams to regroup and prepare for the next movie genre," Chris started. "Let me tell you, it's going to be intense. I'll be surprised if it won't be the most intense yet. Will Courtney forgive Duncan for his supposed betrayal of their relationship? Will the Killer Grips actually WIN for once? And most importantly of all, how much more money can I make off of Justin? I mean really, the girls are just eating him up. I could create a line of merchandise based off him, and I'd be a trillionaire. Hey! Now there's a thought! Tune in next time for more drama, more action, and more…some other third thing. You'll find it right here on Total…Drama…Action!"

* * *

"Crap! Crap! Crap! Why did I think this would be a good idea?"

The mysterious boy from earlier that morning ran for his life from that insane ex-soldier, Chef Hatchet. When he managed to get a safe distance from him, he found a hiding place to catch his breath. Then he pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number, his fingers shaking with each press of the button.

"Hello?" said another voice.

"Hey, it's me dude," said the boy.

"Well? What'd you find?"

"It's bad news. I don't know how but…_they_ have the capability of watching the contestants live while the episodes are being filmed."

"Are you joking me? How is this even possible?"

"There's a tiny camera hidden on the underside of each larger video camera. The crew can't even spot it."

"Did you at least manage to pry them off?"

"I tried doing it in a way so that I wouldn't come into view of the camera. That didn't work out too well. I got caught after removing just one."

"That can't be helped. Bring it back to headquarters, and we'll get a good look at it."

"This problem is definitely getting worse. If only this show didn't have the most oblivious crew in the world working for it…"

"Now's not the time for 'what ifs'. Now is the time to take action. We can't let the enemy get what they want. The FFB has to put a stop to this. The Total Drama series could be doomed. Think of all the innocent fans out there. How would they feel if their favorite show was taken off the air?"

"They'd be crushed if that were to happen. What about the 22 contenders? What would happen to them?"

"They'd probably be victimized for the rest of their lives. Now do you see the importance of the situation at hand?"

"I do now. Just one question: is it really worth getting killed over? From my perspective, there's a huge risk of a decapitation occurring."

"Hey, at least if you die, you would be considered a martyr by the rest of the FFB. You'd be a legend!"

"I prefer living, thanks."

"Of course you would, you wuss. Anyway, report to headquarters immediately."

"Got it. See you there," the boy said as he hung up. He looked toward the film lot one last time before leaving. "I feel sorry for those guys. They think they're just playing another game. They have no idea about the trouble they're in right now."

* * *

And that's one full episode down. Just a whole lot more to go. -_- Next chapter might take a while. Thnx for reading and again, plz review if you can.


	3. E15,P1:One Drama Filled Christmas

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

* * *

Episode 2, Part 1: One Action-Packed Drama-Filled Christmas

"What do you mean we can't air the previous episode!?!" Chris shouted.

"I'm sorry Chris, but since there was an incident on set yesterday, we had to file a report to Teletoon and wait for further orders," a crew member explained.

"And exactly what orders did they give?" Chris asked.

"Well…according to Teletoon protocol, because the incident involved tampering with the crew's equipment, we're supposed to investigate the matter in order to confirm that said tampering does not affect the outcome of the game."

"Well then, what did you find?"

"Uh…nothing. No damage. The camera appears to be working fine. That's what confuses me. What the heck was that guy trying to accomplish?"

"No idea, dude," Chris said. "So when can we air the episode?"

"Let's see…if I've done the math right…approximately 11 weeks."

"Are you joking!? There's going to be an 11 week delay in airing that episode? For what?"

"They wouldn't disclose why. This could end up working out though."

"How? Every episode to date has been aired the Sunday after it was filmed. Now that we're breaking that streak, the fans will be really disappointed," Chris said, looking really sad.

"Wow, I didn't know you cared that much," the crew member said in surprise.

"…and disappointed fans means lower ratings, and lower ratings means a smaller paycheck. This season is turning into a catastrophe! How could it possibly work out?"

"I should have known…anyway, you know how this show has such a huge following in the United States?"

"Yeah. The fanbase over there is just about as big as the fanbase here."

"Well, the first season was shown in the U.S. about a year after it aired in Canada. When it started airing in America, it caught on so quickly that the more dedicated fans looked up the rest of the episodes on the Internet. Now, there will always be a group of retards who will think that it's a good idea to liberally post spoilers, which they did.

"Yeah, are you going anywhere with this?" Chris asked.

"The 11 week delay allows the American airing to catch up with the Canadian airing, and then the remaining episodes of TDA will be aired in these two countries simultaneously."

"So we prevented Americans from being spoiled. Big deal. Does that really matter?"

"Oh yeah, a lot. I can imagine that the fans of this show will beg for an explanation for the delay. Well, now we have one. We obviously can't tell anyone what _really_ happened. That'll make us look bad."

"That's still kind of like a giant middle finger to the viewing audience," Chris said.

"We'll lose a few fans inevitably, but it's a hell of a lot better than getting cancelled."

"Oh yes. I just shudder at the thought of that happening."

"You afraid of losing that big paycheck of yours?" the crew member asked, elbowing Chris.

"You know me too well, dude," the host said with a huge grin.

* * *

"Last time on Total Drama Action, we traveled back to the Stone Age as the castmates were forced to endure one of the most brutal challenges EVER! The Screaming Gaffers clearly dominated the first part of the challenge, but the Killer Grips managed to pull out the win thanks to a 'convenient' injury to Justin. Poor guy. Someone as good looking as him doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. Despite the broken leg, we still forced him to compete in the second part of the challenge. Medical care costs money, you know, and we already lost a bundle when we fixed Owen's jaw. We didn't even cause this injury this time. Why should we use _our _money for this?"

"The second part of the challenge involved fighting a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Yeah, you have no idea how many history nerds complained about that one. Once again, the challenge belonged to the Gaffers, as some quick thinking and amazing skill completely left the 'Not-So-Killer' Grips in the dust. Duncan scored the win as he somehow managed to kill the freakin' dinosaur. Do you know how powerful we tried to make it? Guess that didn't work. Of course, 'Mr. Tough Guy' ended up keeling over when Courtney decided to slug him in the stomach. Wimp! A little lower and we could've seen the worst injury in the history of this show. Today, the two teams will compete for the ever-so-precious power of invincibility. What is in store for our teams? Which competitor has seen their last day in this competition? Will any of these guys stop costing us money? I mean, I want to see them badly injured for the sake of entertainment as much as the next person, but they're bleeding me dry here! Find out tonight, in the most dramatic Gilded Chris Ceremony ever, on Total…Drama…Action!"

* * *

Harold lied in his bed as the sun started to rise. It was still half an hour before breakfast time, and there really wasn't anything to do around the film lot, so he just stayed in bed. He looked to his left and saw Duncan awake in his bed. To pass the time, Duncan carved various drawings into the wall. Harold noticed that some of these drawings included a dog, a soccer ball, a stick figure that looked a lot like Courtney and…a nerd-like stick figure being strangled. Harold gulped out of nervousness. Justin, on the other hand, was still asleep with blindfolds over his eyes.

"What do you want, nerd?" Duncan asked as he turned to face Harold.

"Oh, uh…" Harold paused for a moment. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty depressed," Duncan replied. "I mean, when the girl you like thinks that you're cheating on her, you're bound to feel crushed. You wouldn't have anything to do with it, would you?"

"No! I wouldn't sink that low!" Harold retaliated.

"You didn't have much of a problem sinking that low when you rigged the votes last season," Duncan said with an angry tone.

"Come on! I know I screwed up that time, but you've done plenty of things here to make my life miserable! Now that Courtney is actually back, can't we call ourselves even now?"

"Not until I find out who spread the rumor that I cheated on her!"

"Well it couldn't have been me! Courtney would never listen to me!"

Duncan stopped to think for a moment. Harold did have a point. If Courtney didn't care about whatever Harold had to say in season one, why would she do so now? It had to be someone trustworthy…or someone manipulative.

"Justin! Wake up dammit!" Duncan shouted.

"What do you guys want?" Justin asked as he removed his blindfold. "Don't you know that if I wake up too early, my eyes go red? That certainly is not something that the ladies want to see."

"I'm guessing that's why you cheated in the Awake-a-Thon," Harold said as he recalled the second challenge of the first season.

"Of course," Justin responded. "That, and I needed an easy way to win."

"That's cheap. By the way, how's your leg doing?"

"Oh, that? It's all better now. My doctor says I'm an unnaturally quick healer. I guess it comes with my unnaturally good looks, huh?" Justin said as he flipped his hair. Harold rolled his eyes at the sight.

"Quit changing the subject!" Duncan yelled. "Now did you spread a rumor that I cheated on Courtney by hanging out with Gwen?"

"I really couldn't care less about who you hang out with," Justin answered.

"Man, this whole situation is confusing me," Duncan said while rubbing his head.

"Yeah, women are generally confusing," Harold added.

"Tell me about it," Duncan said. "Sucks that there's five of them and only three of us."

"I have a bad feeling that my control over the girls here is starting to weaken," Justin said. "They could turn against me any moment now."

"Now that we've realized this, it won't be too long until they see it too," Duncan said.

"And once that happens, we'll be picked off one by one," Harold added.

"You know, something about this conversation seems awfully familiar," Duncan said.

"You getting that déjà vu feeling?" Harold asked.

"I'm trying to remember...when I did this before…nope. I got nothing," Duncan said, giving up.

"Well, whatever it is, we have to take action soon," Justin said.

"…if only you did that more often," Harold mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Hey Courtney! What'cha doing?" Beth asked as she looked over Courtney's shoulder. Courtney was busy using her PDA.

"It's definitely nothing that you should be poking your nose in," Courtney responded as she tried to push the farm girl away.

"Can I see that thing for a second?" Beth asked, pointing at Courtney's PDA. "I just wanted to talk to my sweet boyfriend and tell him I'm all right."

"For one thing, I know you're lying through your teeth," Courtney said. Beth frowned upon hearing this. "And also, I've got precious strategies saved in this PDA. There's no way I can trust that you won't look at them."

"Oh c'mon! I promise I won't look," Beth pleaded. She tried to make a grab for the PDA, but Courtney held it high in the air. Beth didn't even come close to reaching it due to her height.

"Would you idiots quit fooling around? I'm trying to get some sleep here!" Heather complained, still in bed.

"I'm not an idiot and I'm not fooling around!" Courtney responded. "Not so sure about her, though," she said, motioning over to Beth.

"Hey! You can't make fun of Beth!" Lindsay defended.

"Aww. Thanks bestie!" Beth said to her BFF.

"Ugh, would the three of you quit it with the love fest over there?" Heather asked in frustration.

"Why do you have to group me with those two? I'm not doing anything!" Courtney shot back.

"Just watch yourself, or that short fuse of yours could get you voted out tonight," Heather replied.

"I do not have a short fuse!" Courtney shouted as she tossed a pillow right at Heather's face.

"Nice shot girl!" Leshawna said. Courtney glared daggers at her as a response. "What's with the nasty face Courtney?"

"Never mind. It's not worth it," Courtney answered, looking peevish.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Leshawna: I know I could just throw the challenge and send Heather home tonight, but the thing is, she hasn't actually done anything incredibly evil this season. I know I shouldn't press my luck, but I still say that Courtney needs to be voted out right away. Not only is she a threat, but she's also a complete jerk. And hey, if we just happen to lose today's challenge, I have the perfect alternative.

Courtney: I still can't believe that Leshawna continues to side with Harold, even after he cheated! No matter, I'll make sure the Gaffers lose today and convince them to vote that deceitful nerd off the show. Let's face it, if I lose today's challenge, I've lost the game. Justin, Beth, and Lindsay all have their minds set on voting me out.

Lindsay: Haley and Cassidy have both been acting so mean this season, it's hard to choose between who to vote out.  
Beth: But they're on separate teams, Lindsay.  
Lindsay: Oh yeah, I forgot about that!  
Beth: I'm sure that no matter which team wins today, one of them _has_ to be voted out.  
Lindsay: You're so smart, BFF.  
Beth: Thanks! *grins*

Heather: It's amazing that those idiots Lindsay and Beth are still alive in this game. As much as I want to see them gone, I'd rather that the Grips vote out Courtney tonight. She's probably the most powerful out of them all, and maybe the only one who can compete on the same level as me…except for the fact that she cheats, of course.

* * *

"Good morning castmates!" Chris exclaimed with a cheerful smile. All eight of the competitors practically ignored him.

"I'm sure you'll all enjoy the challenge that I have in store for you today," he said while rubbing his hands in excitement.

"I know _you're _going to enjoy it," Courtney said, "but I'm sure we'll be screaming in pain before the day is over."

"Come to think of it," Lindsay said, "most of Chris's challenges end up getting me hurt."

"Really? You just noticed that?" Heather asked, not sounding too surprised.

"Hey! Shall I remind you of the rules regarding interrupting your very handsome host!" Chris shouted. Most of the castmates just rolled their eyes.

"You never know. Today's challenge might be perfectly harmless. Follow me!"

The nine of them headed toward Studio 15. Inside was quite an odd site. There were puddles of water all over the place. Some of them were small and shallow, while others were large and several inches deep. In the middle of the studio was a large house, with two large chimneys jutting out of the roof. To the left was Chef, who was dressed in winter clothing, for some odd reason. He was wearing a ski jacket, scarf, trapper hat, and mittens.

"Oh my god! This place is sinking! Everybody run for it!" Lindsay yelled after noticing all the puddles. She started to make a break for it when Heather grabbed her by the shirt.

"Will you stop acting stupid for just two seconds?" Heather asked, annoyed at Lindsay's ignorance.

"Is it two seconds yet?" Lindsay asked in response.

"Chef! Dude! Where did all the snow go?" Chris asked.

"You're looking at it!" Chef shouted. "Man, I told you this studio wasn't the right place to put all that snow!"

"Come to think of it, it's rather warm in here," Beth noticed.

"Man! First the beach challenge was too cold, and now this snow challenge is too dang warm!" Leshawna said. "Can't you guys ever get the temperature right?"

"Look at it this way," Beth said. "If the snow is gone, that means there's no challenge, right?"

There was silence for one second, and the next second, cheers erupted from the eight competitors.

"This has to be the greatest day ever!" Harold shouted while embracing Leshawna.

"I can't believe we're finally safe from Chris's dumb old challenges!" Leshawna yelled as she joined in on the celebration.

"Yay! No more pain today!" Lindsay celebrated as she hugged the person right next to her. Too bad it wasn't Beth like she thought.

"Lindsiot! Get off of me before I catch your stupidity!" Heather shouted as she tried to pry the blonde off.

"No silly! Stupidity isn't a disease," Lindsay said.

"I'm surprised you even know that," Heather replied.

Beth, meanwhile, ran over to hug Justin. Justin's facial expression made it obvious that he wasn't enjoying himself.

"Uh…Beth? I know he's fake, but don't you already have a boyfriend?"

"What! Brady's not fake!" Beth responded, putting her hands on her hips. "I can prove it too, if I Courtney would just let me use her PDA."

"How's about we make a deal. If I can somehow get a hand on Courtney's PDA, I'll give it to you, provided you let me check something real quick on it, okay?" Justin proposed with a smile. Beth started to sweat after falling for Justin's good looks for the umpteenth time.

"Okay then handsome…uh, I mean Justin!" Beth said as she giggled uncontrollably.

"No challenge! This is freakin' awesome!" Duncan rejoiced, lifting Courtney in the air.

Courtney, on the other hand, didn't like this at all. She slapped Duncan's wrists, causing him to drop her on her feet. "Duncan, would you cut that out!"

"Look, I didn't do anything with Gwen!" Duncan shouted, throwing his arms up in the air. "If it looked like that, then you just got the wrong idea!"

"It's not that," Courtney said, starting to look sad. "If there's no challenge, that means no invincibility. And no invincibility means that I probably have a high chance of going home."

"No, no, don't think like that," Duncan said while putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll bail you out of this, don't worry."

"Thanks Duncan," Courtney said with a smile returning to her face. "So…does that mean you're throwing the challenge?"

"Throwing the…hell no!" Duncan shouted, almost in surprise that she asked that question. "Dang it, I'm not Trent! There's no way I'm gonna suffer the same fate as that wack-job!"

Courtney kicked Duncan hard in the shin for her response. "Why? Why…" Duncan moaned. Courtney walked away in a huff.

"Oh man! Hey Courtney! Try a little higher next time, but not quite above the belt, okay?" Chris said, clearly enjoying the moment.

"Chris, is there something you enjoy _other _than the pain of others?" Beth asked out of concern.

"Yeah. Seeing me on television. That's always awesome. Anyway, it's pretty funny seeing all of your reactions considering that you're all gravely mistaken. There will still be a challenge today."

"YES!" Courtney shouted in triumph, as she now had the opportunity to keep herself alive in this game. Nobody else shared her reaction. The other seven just froze, with their jaws agape.

"I stand corrected. THOSE are some pretty funny reactions!" Chris said as he starting going into a laughing fit.

"Chris McClean…you dirty liar…" Leshawna said, seething with anger.

"Liar? Did I _say_ that this was a snow based challenge? No, the snow's just there for decoration…or at least it was SUPPOSED to be there!" Chris shouted as he turned toward Chef.

"Why you blaming me for everything, man!?!" Chef complained. "Man, he always goes and pins it on me, that little son of a…" he muttered.

"Anyway, the movie genre for this challenge will be far better than stupid snow…it's Christmas!"

Chris announced the challenge as if he expected the castmates to cheer up. They didn't. Not even close.

"Christmas? But isn't it like…summer?" Lindsay asked.

"_Very_ perceptive, Lindsay," Heather said with sarcasm. "Would you care for a treat to celebrate your brilliance?"

"Oooo! Yes please! Yes please!" Lindsay exclaimed as she jumped up and down. Heather slapped her forehead in irritation.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Leshawna: Of all the lousy…*slams fist on table* I can't believe Chris would actually do this to us!

Heather: Sometimes I wonder how Lindsay actually managed to put together an audition tape for the show. She _had _to have had help.

Justin: With Beth's desire to contact this "Brady" person, I now have the opportunity to get at Courtney's PDA. Surely I'll be able to see her strategies with that in my possession.

Duncan: What in the hell is Courtney's deal anyway? First the whole Gwen thing and now she wants me to take a dive like Trent. No way, million bucks comes before my love life any day…although it was a pretty damn tough choice. *frowns*

* * *

"Now, if you will all gather your attention to the back side of this house…" Chris said as he led the competitors along.

On the other side, the castmates saw a huge pile of Christmas presents. There must have been at least a hundred of them. They were all of various sizes, ranging from as small as a baseball to as large as a football player. Some of them were cube shaped, while others were more rectangular. They were all wrapped the same way, with purple wrapping paper and gold ribbons.

"Wow, this pile is slightly larger than the one I usually get for Christmas," Lindsay said as she was in awe.

"_Slightly_? Lucky little…" Harold mumbled.

"Let me explain the rules now," Chris said. "In part one of this challenge, you guys will be participating in Christmas Basketball. Instead of a ball, each of the teams will shoot presents into their respective chimneys. There's a ten minute time limit, and the more presents you get down your chimney within the ten minutes, the better off you'll be in the second part of the challenge."

"As you can see, some presents will have a harder time fitting down the chimney than others. It'd be worth it, though, to try and get some of those larger presents in there. You can bet that you'll find something quite valuable in there. And since I'm a nice guy, if any of the presents you get down the chimney stays intact by the end of the challenge, you get to keep that."

"Thank God! We finally get a break here!" Leshawna cried in relief.

"Actually, this doesn't look too bad," Beth said.

"Yes! Another chance to show off my mad skills!" Harold said excitedly.

"Get on your marks, teams!" Chris said. The Screaming Gaffers lined up on the left, and the Killer Bass were on the right. Both teams were approximately 25 feet away from their chimneys. The ground was still pretty wet from all of the melted snow.

"And…action!!!"

Harold was the first to take a shot for the Gaffers. He grabbed a medium sized present and tossed it as high as he could. It ended up sailing far to the right.

"Darn it! I misjudged it!" Harold exclaimed.

Heather was next for the Gaffers. She took a smaller present, but her shot was short as it hit the side of the chimney before tumbling down the roof.

Beth decided to go first for the Killer Grips, and grabbed a present about one-third her size. Like Heather, her shot ended up short.

Duncan took one of the bigger presents right away. "Always gotta go for the kill," he said as he heaved the present toward the chimney. His shot hit the rim of the chimney, but fell out. Duncan was disappointed, but he was the closest so far.

Courtney shot a present that was about the size of her head, but it went wide to the left. "Dammit Chris, do you _have _to make challenges impossible nowadays?"

The bad luck streak was finally broken when Leshawna made a shot with a medium sized cube shaped present. "Aw yeah! That's how WE roll!" she cheered as she gave Harold a high five.

Lindsay took the next shot, but she struggled with her microwave-sized box, and it only traveled a couple of feet. Her shot was the furthest away from the basket so far.

Harold went again and took the smallest present. He took his time trying to align the shot and ended up getting nothing but net…I mean, nothing but brick…uh I mean, he didn't brick it or anything, but…he made the shot, okay. End of story.

"And the Screaming Gaffers have 2 presents to the Grips' big goose egg. Come on Grips! You gotta start making some shots here! The viewers get bored when they see one-sided contests!"

Justin sat back near the pile, watching most of the castmates fail miserably at throwing the presents. The only other shot that went in was Duncan's, who somehow managed to throw a television sized box into the chimney.

"Justin, I know you have your looks to think about but…do you want to help us out for a change!?!" Courtney shouted.

"I'm just confused, that's all," Justin responded.

"Confused about what?" Courtney asked.

"Why are we shooting the presents from so far away? There was no rule regarding the distance."

Courtney paused for a moment while thinking about Justin's statement. Suddenly, a smile instantly appeared on her face.

"Justin! You're brilliant!" Courtney exclaimed as she embraced Justin and kissed him on the cheek. Luckily for Duncan, he didn't see any of that. "Justin, can you run as close as you can to chimney and try to take the shots? Lindsay and Beth definitely aren't the best choices for this job."

"I'll see what I can do," Justin said as he gave her a smile back and ran off.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Courtney: I may have been wrong about Justin. He could really be hiding some intelligence under those good looks of his…no wait, I mean, even though Justin is really handsome and all…I mean…damn. I've got to plan out what I'm going to say before I come in here.

Justin: This is all going according to plan. If I can impress Courtney with a win in this challenge, her strategies will the all mine. Oh yeah, and I guess I can see if Beth was lying or not. She better have been…uh…not that I care though. I mean, me and Beth? Come on! That'll never catch on!

* * *

Justin ran up to the house until he was about two feet away from the chimney. Courtney tossed him four presents, and he made every single shot. Just to show off, his fourth shot was a skyhook, which bounced along the rim until it fell through.

"Hey! Chris! I'm calling shenanigans here!" Heather protested.

"You can't tell me that's legal," Harold added.

"Uh…yeah, funny story about that," Chris said as she started to chuckle. "We originally intended for the boundary line to be drawn in the snow, but as you can see, the snow's all gone. So the boundary line pretty much…melted away with the rest of the snow."

"Idiot!" Harold shouted. "Guys, we've got to get some presents in, fast!"

"I would seriously move it if I were you," Chris said. "We're at the two minute warning right now."

"Wrong sport, retard," Duncan said.

"A minute fifty-eight…a minute fifty-seven…a minute fifty-six…"

"Would you start moving already?!?" Leshawna shouted at Duncan. "The Grips have already got, like, nine presents in already!"

Harold tried tossing some larger presents, but he rushed the shots, and they fell wide of the chimney. Heather attempted to throw one up, but couldn't get the right angle on it, and it hit the side of the chimney on its way up.

"Gosh! Do we really suck that much?" Harold asked while scratching his head.

"I think we've got them on the ropes guys!" Beth shouted as Justin made two more shots.

"Go Justin!" Lindsay cheered. "He's good isn't he?"

"I know. He should totally play for the Raptors."

"Taylor told me that those guys suck."

"Not with Justin, they wouldn't."

"Thirty seconds to go, teams!" Chris shouted.

Duncan grabbed a present that was about half his height and threw up a prayer. The shot managed to go in after wobbling around the rim for a few seconds. Harold threw a desperation shot at the last second and somehow made it in. Justin placed three more shots into the bucket before time expired.

"That's it teams! Well, if I had to pick a winner now, it would be the Grips by a mile. Nice work there Justin," Chris said as he pointed at Justin. Justin flashed another smile for the camera.

"Don't get too comfortable now, because it's not over yet. There's still part two to be played. Will the Killer Grips pull the upset? Which of the remaining eight competitors will be taking the Walk of Shame tonight? Will Chef ever set up a challenge right?"

"Hey! I heard that! One more out of you and I swear…"

"Hehe, never mind him, folks. Make sure you tune in after the break for the thrilling conclusion!"

* * *

Hope you enjoyed that one guys, because there's plenty of more drama to be found in the next chapter. After all, it could be your favorite that gets voted out next. Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Oh yeah, and I probably should have written this during Christmas. Then again, I was busy vacationing in Australia (ironically enough, it actually is summer over there during Christmas).


	4. E15,P2:You Gotta Love Plot Twists

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

* * *

Episode 2, Part 2: You Gotta Love Plot Twists

"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen!" Chris exclaimed.

"But we didn't go anywhere-" Lindsay started before she was cut off.

"Dang it Lindsay! I already told you that joke was getting old. Do that again, and you're getting the boot," Chris threatened.

"But I already have a boot. Two of them."

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Consider yourself lucky that a bunch of fans find you hot, or you'd be out of here already. Back to the challenge now!"

Chris took the two teams inside of the structure where the presents were thrown into during the previous challenge. The interior of the structure resembled a basketball court, except there were no hoops. Instead there were two brick walls on either end of the court, or at least it looked that way. The bricks were actually made of foam. Near the half-court line, there were two piles of presents, one much bigger than the other.

"All right teams, here's how this challenge works. Your goal is to knock down the brick wall on your opponent's side of the court and hit the five targets behind it. Your only means of doing so are the presents that you tossed in here in the first part of this challenge. Use whatever you get to knock out those targets, and invincibility will be yours. There's just one rule here. You are not allowed to cross the midcourt boundary, and if any of the presents land across the boundary, it becomes the property of the other team. Whether they decide to use it or keep it is up to them."

"I'm pretty sure that's two rules," Harold said.

"Not like it matters, dude," Chris responded. "All right, I think it's obvious which side belongs to the Screaming Gaffers," he said as she pointed to the side with the smaller pile of presents. There were only five boxes in that pile, compared to the fourteen boxes that the Grips had.

"Is that _really_ all the presents we managed to toss in here?" Duncan asked.

"That's right, delinquent," Chef said as he walked inside. "You guys blew that challenge so bad that I didn't even have to count the shots to make sure."

"I'm guessing our chances at invincibility are shot," Leshawna said, looking crestfallen.

"Guys! In case you haven't noticed, the other team is on a losing streak. We can totally beat them!" Heather argued.

"Even I'm in doubt now," Harold said. "The odds are just stacked so high against us, we'd need a ton of luck to win."

"All right team, here's the plan," Courtney started as the Killer Grips huddled up on the other side of the court. "We've got to find out the contents of those presents first so that we can come up with a suitable strategy, then we'll-"

"Uh…Courtney?" Justin asked. "Wouldn't it be much easier just to throw everything we've got at them right away? Overwhelming them with power seems to be the way to go here."

"I say we go with that plan!" Lindsay shouted.

"Lindsay, we can't go with Justin's plan just because it sounds easy," Beth said.

"Thanks Beth. Finally, there's someone else on this team with a little common sense," Courtney replied.

"…we're going with Justin's plan because he's the hottest boy alive!" Beth exclaimed as she swooned over Justin.

"You just had to crush my hopes and dreams, didn't you?" Courtney asked with her eyes narrowed at Beth.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Heather: I've got a bad feeling that if the Killer Grips win, they'll take control over this game. Of course, it's ONLY because they got to have everyone who came back to the show. Way to play fair guys!

Harold: I can't help but feel that I'm in danger of going home today. As much as it seems impossible to win, I just can't let invincibility get away from me. Courtney's looking to vote me off…if I don't get killed first, of course.

Lindsay: I still say that we should go with Jared's plan. Christina's idea involves WAY too much thinking.

Leshawna: There ain't no way I'm letting that spoiled brat Courtney win! I know that she'll just vote off poor Harold the first chance she gets. Girl's gonna get what's coming to her, for sure!

Courtney: I'd love to say that my team has got this in the bag, but nothing is guaranteed. For all I know, Lindsay could do something stupid at the beginning of this round.

Duncan: Damn, my team pretty much needs a miracle to win…or at least for Lindsay to do something stupid. Yeah, that'll work.

* * *

"Are both the teams ready to RUMBLE!?!" Chris shouted with his usual flair. Both teams started each other down across the court…except for Lindsay, who was too busy eyeing the presents to focus. "And…ACTION!!!"

Right off the bat, Lindsay threw one of the Grips' larger presents toward the Gaffers' wall. It bounced off harmlessly and did no noticeable damage. The Gaffers looked dumbfounded as the blonde practically handed them a potentially valuable weapon.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Courtney: OH MY GOD! Why did I have to jinx us like that!?!

Duncan: *fist pumps* Oh yeah baby! Who called it? I did!

* * *

"And it looks like Lindsay's…curious strategy gave the Gaffers some life," Chris said while rubbing his chin. Even he couldn't make sense of that move. An elated Duncan began unwrapping the present that Lindsay tossed.

"Nice job, doofus! What were you thinking?" Courtney asked.

"Uh…that we were going with Jason's plan?" Lindsay responded.

"It's okay BFF," Beth consoled. "I don't think that box held anything important." Beth spoke too soon, as the sound of a chainsaw starting could be heard from across the court.

"You've _got _to be kidding me!" Courtney said in disbelief.

"Do you guys even want to know what happened the last time I got my hands on a chainsaw!?!" Duncan yelled. "Oh yeah, I got it swatted out of my hands by a bunch of stupid raccoons…but forget that! Let it be remembered that this day saw the Toronto Chainsaw Massacre!" Duncan maniacally shouted as he held the revved chainsaw above his head.

"I would suggest that you guys hit the deck within the next few seconds," Chris warned as he leaned forward to get a good look at the carnage that would possibly follow.

Duncan spun around and tossed the chainsaw like an Olympic hammer. The chainsaw spun like a helicopter blade as it just missed decapitating Justin, who ducked in the nick of time. The chainsaw hit the brick wall, knocking down about one-third of the wall and taking out one of the targets in the process.

"How do you like that, Killer Wimps!?!" Duncan hollered with his arms raised in triumph.

Courtney glared at Lindsay for her screw-up. "What, how was I supposed to know that Duncan was good at using chainsaws?" Lindsay said, trying to defend herself. This annoyed Courtney even more.

"This is what I love about this challenge. It's just so ridiculously random that you'll never know what will happen or who will get dismembered. It's all one big surprise," Chris said.

"Can we please go with my strategy now? I'll guarantee us a win," Courtney pleaded. Knowing that they couldn't possibly do any worse, the Grips reluctantly agreed to follow Courtney's strategy. They started to huddle around the thirteen presents they had left.

"They appear to be formulating a plan…" Harold said as he squinted his eyes. "Quick! Now's our time to strike!"

"Just let me handle this," Duncan said, brimming with confidence. He walked up to the largest present they had, the one that he managed to throw into the chimney in the dying seconds of the basketball round. As soon as he tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box, all the confidence he had went flying out the window.

"Well, what'd you get?" Leshawna asked.

"Uh…it's not that important," Duncan answered, starting to look nervous.

"Come on Duncan! We need to get back in this!" Harold urged.

"Yeah, tough guy. We don't exactly have much time to waste here," Heather said, not caring about how much Duncan was starting to sweat.

"All right fine. Here it is," Duncan said as he held out…a teddy bear. Leshawna was the first one to burst out in laughter.

"Oh man, did you mess up big time or what!?!" Leshawna heckled. "You can't tell me your luck is _that _bad!"

"Shut up! At least I put us in the lead right now!" Duncan countered. "As soon as you feel contributing, then go ahead and do so."

"Oh man, I was hoping someone would get the dummy box!" Chris shouted as he cackled on the floor. "It's only appropriate that _you_ receive what's inside!"

"Ahem! Can I get your guys' attention please!" Courtney shouted. Everyone turned to Courtney and the Grips, who had just finished coming up with a strategy. No one noticed Duncan stuffing the teddy bear into his shirt.

"Now, since the chainsaw landed on our side, that means we now have the ability to use it. Because this is a dangerous power tool that could cause all of you to be cut in half," Courtney said as she pointed at the Gaffers, using the same amount of melodrama that Chris does, "I shall place my trust in the one person who is clearly fit enough to wield it…Lindsay!"

"How I turn this thing on again?" Lindsay asked as she tried to locate the power button on the chainsaw, which we all know doesn't exist.

"Oh crap, anybody but her!" Heather yelled as her face turned as white as a bed sheet.

"Not to worry guys, my mad chainsaw catching skills will totally save the day here," Harold assured.

Courtney quickly explained to Lindsay how to turn on a chainsaw. As soon as he could hear the roar of the engine, Harold reacted right away.

"Please don't kill me! Take Duncan instead!" Harold screamed out of fear as he hid behind Leshawna.

"If I weren't so ticked about the whole teddy bear thing, I'd be beating the hell out of you right now!" Duncan said angrily.

"Now Justin!" Courtney signaled.

The Gaffers were so distracted that they created a huge opening that the Grips could throw object through. Justin took this opportunity to toss a bowling ball like a shot put. Impressively, the ball soared across the court and slammed into the Gaffers' wall, causing half of it to crumble.

"How could something that small cause so much damage?" Heather asked in disbelief.

"…because Lindsay weakened the wall on her first throw! It all makes sense now!" Harold realized. "I got to admit, that's one brilliant strategy."

"Er…yeah, we totally planned that out from the beginning!" Courtney shouted, taking the chance to gloat in Harold's face. "Beth, it's your turn!"

"Please hit, please hit, please hit…" Beth muttered as she aimed a slingshot, using a piece of coal as ammunition. The shot barely nicked the side of the Gaffers' far right target, but it was good enough to count as a hit.

"And it looks like things are tied up," Chris said as he looked out the window. He was snickering to himself for some odd reason.

While the Gaffers were still trying to recover from the chainsaw scare, Courtney casually tossed another piece of coal at another target, and hit it easily.

"Gosh guys! We need to turn this around here!" Harold shouted as he fumbled with the Gaffers' smallest present. He took out its content and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Quick, how much more coal do we have?" Courtney asked her teammates.

"Just two, and there's three targets left," Beth said as she held up the remaining coal. "We'll need something else in order to win."

"All right, let's see what's in box number four," Courtney said as she opened the present. "Twelve-sided dice? Useless." A disappointed Courtney tossed the two dice onto the other side of the court. Harold dove for the dice in order to claim it.

"Yes! Another pair to add to my collection!"

"Could you at least go for something useful next time?" said an annoyed Heather.

"Could you at least shut your mouth and do something?" Leshawna countered. She opened the Gaffers' third present to find a paintball gun. Unfortunately, there was no ammunition.

"Aw man! Who in their right mind would give away a paintball gun with no ammo? That just don't sound right," Leshawna said while inspecting the gun.

Courtney went through a number of presents only to find random objects in them: a calculator, a Ziploc bag, and a slightly used toothbrush. Courtney chucked the latter object out the window in disgust. She swore she could hear a gruff voice say "Chris! I'm gonna kill you for touching my stuff! I thought we agreed on this!"

"You run out of stuff to pelt us with?" Duncan asked, crossing his arms. "Maybe you should let Lindsay touch something. That'll help speed things along."

Courtney ignored him and finally found something that could be of some use: a rotten tomato. Courtney didn't want to have to touch it, so she asked Beth to handle the job.

"I can do this…this shot is easy…" Beth said in order to calm herself. She threw the tomato like a baseball and it flew straight toward the center target, only for Duncan to stick his hand out and block the shot.

"Nice try, but you'll need to do better than that," Duncan said as he wiped the tomato pulp off of his hand.

"If that's the case, then I dare you to catch this one," Courtney said as she motioned toward Justin. Justin found a pair of scissors and threw them toward the same target that Beth tried previously. Duncan was brave, but he certainly wasn't stupid enough to risk a serious injury. He sidestepped and allowed the scissors to hit their target.

"Three down! And here's number four!"

Duncan hadn't noticed that Courtney had moved to the far right side of the court. From the angle she was at, she could barely see the next target behind the section of the Gaffers' wall that was still standing. Courtney lobbed the Grips' third piece of coal over the wall and managed to hit the target.

"Now this is getting good!" Chris exclaimed. "The Killer Grips are just one hit away from winning their first challenge since…when was the last time you won? And I mean legitimately. I know all about the challenge fixing that took place in episode seven."

"Who cares? The point is that we win today," Courtney said, assured of the outcome.

"Since the Gaffers are down to one last target, we've decided to give them one last chance to get back in this," Chris said as he looked out the window again. "It's time you met today's special guest."

"Is it a celebrity? That's so cool!" Lindsay exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight.

"Uh…sort of," Chris said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's…Santa!"

On cue, "Santa" stepped into the building. There was something a bit off about him, though. He was big, but he wasn't as fat as Santa is usually pictured, and he certainly wasn't as jolly.

"Oh wow, nice beard Chef!" Duncan shouted as he started to laugh. "Did you lose your job and have to work at the local shopping center! Hahaha!" Indeed, Chef Hatchet had once again become the victim of Chris's numerous gimmicks.

"Quiet, deadbeat! I could have your team disqualified in an instant…uh, I mean, ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!" Chef said as he trudged toward the Gaffers' side.

Duncan chuckled to himself. "Hehe, he said-"

"Don't you DARE make that joke!" Leshawna threatened.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to give you a free gift so that you'd have one last chance to get back in this challenge," Chef explained.

"So…you! Get over here!" Chef pointed at Heather, who slowly walked toward the large cook.

"Hey, hold on! How come they get a free lifeline?" Courtney complained.

"Because it makes for interesting TV. Can't have this challenge end in a blowout. That would just tick off the fans, which means lower ratings…you should know how it works by now." Chris said, pulling a bag of popcorn from out of nowhere. "This should get interesting."

"Well, little girl, what would you like for Christmas?" Chef asked, struggling to sound as merry as the real Santa would be.

Heather looked at her teammates, expecting them to come up with an idea. Duncan motioned toward the paintball gun that Leshawna was holding.

"Do you have any paintballs on you? We need some for our gun," Heather said.

"Well, let's just see here…" Chef said as he rummaged through his huge sack of presents. Somehow, he managed to pull out a container of paintballs in just a few seconds.

"Here you go, baldy," Chef said as he tossed the container over to Heather, who became irritated at Chef's remark.

"Should have asked for a wig instead," Heather mumbled as she handed the container to Leshawna.

"We're in luck!" Harold shouted. He held up a pair of thermal goggles that he just retrieved out of one of the Gaffers' remaining presents. Harold quickly tossed the goggles to Leshawna and reached into his pocket.

"What good is that gonna do for us if we can see straight ahead?" Duncan asked skeptically.

"Doesn't matter now. Lindsay…or on second thought, Beth, go and finish them off!" Courtney shouted as she tossed the Grips' final piece of coal to the farm girl. Beth reared her arm back in an attempt to toss the coal over the wall and right into the Gaffers' final target.

"Now or never!" Harold yelled as he threw the weapon he had kept hidden for quite some time: a smoke bomb.

"What's going on!?!" Beth shrieked as she threw the coal out of panic. The toss went far too low and ended up bouncing off the Gaffers' wall.

"Is this place on fire? Where did all the smoke come from?" Lindsay asked as she walked toward the ominous dark fumes that started to completely cover the Gaffers' side of the court. From behind the smoke, Duncan picked up the bowling ball that Justin had tossed earlier and hurled it across the court. The ball barely missed Lindsay as it demolished most of what was remaining of the Grips' wall.

"Courtney, I think they just stole our strategy," Lindsay said, oblivious to the potential injury that she could have suffered. Courtney just shook her head as a response.

"Why don't you eat some of this!?!" Leshawna shouted as she began firing the paintball gun. Using the thermal vision goggles, she started firing at the four figures she could see. Lindsay and Beth were hit hard by the barrage of paint, Courtney ran to the edge of the court, and Justin attempted to duck under the shots, only to take a paintball to the face.

"Watch it! I have a career to think about, you know!" Justin screamed while rubbing his face where the paintball hit.

By sheer luck, Leshawna managed to hit one of the Grips' targets during that paintball rampage. Duncan picked up Beth's coal and threw it at another target, further cutting the Grips' lead.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Chris exclaimed with a mouth full of popcorn. "The Grips are holding on to a slim lead with two targets remaining to the Gaffers' one.

"Darn it! Out of ammo!" Leshawna said as she took off her thermal goggles.

"Whatever. We've only got this box left," Harold said as he held up the Gaffers' final present. "Let's make this one count."

"Game over! The Killer Grips have won!" Chris shouted.

"What? How did that happen?" Heather asked. Looking behind her, she saw that her team's last target was hit. On the ground were broken shards of what appeared to be a coffee mug.

"Maybe you should pay attention to me more often," Justin said, his face beaming in the moment of victory. "I'm not as useless as you think I am."

"Oh Justin! I never thought you were useless!" Beth exclaimed as she ran up to hug the model.

"Totally! You were like, the best out of all of us!" Lindsay added as she joined in on the embrace.

"Damn! I knew I should have played defense," Duncan said.

"Don't blame yourself," Harold consoled. "I don't think it would have mattered anyway, considering the contents of our last box," he said while holding up a jar of worms.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Heather said, disappointed at the challenge's sudden end.

As Justin basked in the glory, Courtney walked up to him. "I have to admit, you're a much better teammate than I thought you were," she said while applauding Justin.

"Congratulations, Killer Grips! You guys just pulled the upset of the season so far!" Chris praised in a rare moment. "You've got three unopened presents left, and they're all yours! Gaffers, you can still take whatever you can find on your side of the court. You might never see me be this generous again, so I'd take the opportunity if I were you." The Screaming Gaffers didn't bother trying to take anything, as nothing really looked that appealing.

"I say you guys can each take a box. I don't really need them," Courtney said as she motioned toward the unopened presents.

"Yay! Merry Christmas everyone!" Lindsay squealed in joy.

"Lindsay, Christmas is another six months away," Courtney said.

"No it's not. There were presents all over the place, and it's not my birthday, so it has to be Christmas, right?" Lindsay asked with an innocent smile. Courtney didn't want to let her down, so she did not give a rebuttal this time.

"Say Courtney," Justin said while walking up to the CIT, "I don't think it's right and proper for a lady like you to walk away empty handed. So how's about a trade?"

"Okay then, what do you want? You can ask for anything really. You earned it."

"You see, I'm starting to get real homesick, and my parents are probably worried about my well-being, so why don't you let borrow that PDA of yours for tonight, and you can keep this," Justin proposed while handing his present to Courtney.

"Oh…alright, I guess it can't really hurt," Courtney answered after hesitating for a second. "Just be careful," she said as she handed the PDA to Justin, "there's some stuff on there that I really don't want you seeing."

"It's not porn, is it?" Justin asked as he looked at the various apps in the device.

"What-no! Why would you possibly think that?" Courtney said defensively while her face was starting to turn red.

"I ask this because Duncan once told me that-"

"Never mind what Duncan said!" Courtney interrupted as she started to push Justin away. "Now run along now! Aren't you supposed to be taking a nap or something?"

"All right teams! Now that you've all taken the spoils of battle, it's time for one last Christmas present from yours truly!" Chris said as he tried to get the cameras back on him.

"Please tell me we're getting some _real_ food for dinner," Leshawna said, forgetting that Chef was close by.

"Even better! You see, the best way to spend Christmas is with your family, but of course, you'll have to wait until after the contest to see your family again. Then again, you guys have sort of grown closer as a family over the last month, right?"

For once, the castmates agreed with Chris. Lindsay and Beth smiled at each other. Harold put his arm around Leshawna. Duncan tried to do the same with Courtney, only to get shoved aside. Even Justin and Heather, the two outsiders, nodded in agreement.

"At the beginning, you guys have pretty much been split apart by the whole team structure thing. We can't have that, now can we? In order to keep up with the Christmas spirit, we've got to end this split. As of right now, all teams are _officially_ dissolved. It's every…castmate…for…THEMSELVES!" Chris declared, trying not to laugh. "Er, I mean…I hope this new experience will bring you guys closer together. Have fun!"

The eight competitors were left stunned, even more stunned than they were earlier today. Beth nearly fainted, Courtney cursed under her breath, Harold picked his ears to make sure he was hearing right, and Leshawna looked ready to kill someone.

"Chris! Haven't you messed with us enough!?!" Leshawna protested.

"Well we had to do it eventually, right?" Chris responded in defense. "Anyway, because there are no teams anymore, everybody will have to report to the Gilded Chris Ceremony tonight. Courtney, Justin, Beth, and Lindsay are all invincible. The other four only have a slim chance of surviving tonight. Bwahahaha!" Chris said as he started to laugh evilly.

"Actually, there's a three in four chance of survival. Those are pretty good odds," Harold pointed out.

"Wow, did you have to ruin the moment?" Chris complained. "Whatever, just get ready for tonight. I have some important business to deal with," he said as he took out a cell phone. "Hey dude. Yeah, I want you to file a lawsuit against Teletoon. Just sue their ass off. We'll make them lose so much money, they'll be feeling it for the next ten years or so. Cartoon Network? Yeah, file a BIGGER lawsuit against those jerks. I specifically said not to censor this show, and what do they do? It's like trying to communicate with a donkey, it's just freaking impossible with those guys."

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Heather: What the hell kind of a reality show merges the teams at such a random point in the episode? Now I've got to change up my strategy. As usual, Chris just loves to screw with all of us.

Leshawna: There's no doubt that I'll be safe tonight. I'm more worried about poor Harold though. Anyone who dares to vote him out will have to answer to me first!

Justin: *looks at PDA* Darn it, Courtney already erased all of the files containing her strategies! Well, most of them anyway. The only one left is just a reminder that Harold must be voted out. As if we didn't know she was planning to do that already!

* * *

"Well dudes, one of us is going home today," Duncan said as he lied in bed. He was starting to carve another drawing into the wall using his pocket knife.

"What do you mean _us_? I'm perfectly safe, thank you," Justin said, half asleep. Duncan tossed one of his dirty socks at Justin out of irritation. "Ewwww! Don't you ever wash this thing?"

"Guys, shouldn't we be worried about who everyone is voting for?" Harold asked, anxious about the vote coming up.

"Isn't the vote obvious?" Justin responded with a question of his own. "Courtney's voting for you, Leshawna's voting for Heather, Lindsay and Beth would vote for someone mean, so I'd watch out Duncan," he said while turning to the delinquent. "Meanwhile, Heather's so unpredictable, she could vote for anybody."

"I highly doubt that the girls would all vote differently," Harold said while staring at the ceiling. "For all I know, they could be forming an alliance or something-"

"That's it!" Duncan shouted as he jumped out of bed. Harold and Justin were both startled by the outburst. "We'll form an alliance. A guy's alliance, just like the one I had last season."

"You mean the one that lasted about two episodes?" Harold asked, doubtful of Duncan's leadership skills. Duncan glared at Harold for that remark.

"You had an alliance? I knew I should have watched the remaining episodes of season one," Justin said, sounding regretful.

"Well why didn't you?" Harold questioned.

"In between my elimination and the TDI special, I was swarmed by all kinds of sponsors who wanted to use my image to benefit themselves. I just never got the chance to watch the rest of the episodes," Justin explained. Harold nodded out of sympathy.

"Guys, I'm serious," Duncan said, trying to persuade the two. "There might be more girls here, but they're all at each other's throats. With the sudden merge, this gives us an element of surprise. No one would expect an alliance to form this quickly."

"I'm still not convinced that we would have an upper hand if we teamed up," Harold argued.

"Are you kidding me? Owen was in my alliance last season and he ended up winning," Duncan shot back as he pulled Harold from out of bed and grabbed him by the shirt. "I'm sure you want to win this as much as anyone else here, so I highly suggest you join in," Duncan said with an almost threatening tone. Harold nervously nodded as Duncan let him go.

"So who's our victim tonight?" Justin inquired.

"I almost hate to say it…" Duncan answered. "It has to be Leshawna."

"What! No way!" Harold protested. "Give me one good reason why we should!"

"We obviously can't vote for me, we obviously can't vote for you, Heather is as good as out of here next week because she's so disliked, and everyone else is invincible," Duncan explained. "See, you wanted one good reason, and I gave you four great ones. Aren't I generous?" he said, slapping Harold on the back. "Besides, if we're really lucky, no one will suspect you of voting her out."

Harold found himself stuck in an impossible situation. He lied on the bed with his face in the pillow, trying to decide if he would really choose the million dollars over the girl he loved. "Gosh, why does reality TV always have to ruin lives," he muttered.

"By the way," Duncan started, "I hope you remember the punishment the previous guy's alliance gave to Geoff when he refused to vote with us." Harold face sank further into his pillow.

Meanwhile, an ominous figure overshadowed the entire conversation from outside.

"Perfect."

* * *

"Alright, you get the plan guys?" Leshawna asked, facing Lindsay and Beth.

"The three of us are supposed to vote out Holly right?" Lindsay guessed.

"Heather," Beth corrected.

"That, and we have to hope that everyone else votes differently," Leshawna explained.

"But shouldn't we try to convince the guys to vote out Heather?" Beth asked.

"Too risky. They'll know we have an alliance going and will try to vote us out," Leshawna answered.

"Oh…that makes sense," Lindsay said, pretending to understand what was going on. The three of them walked back to their trailer, where Courtney and Heather were lying around and doing nothing.

"Hey Heather! How does it feel to be on the back foot for once!?!" Leshawna shouted across the room.

"If you don't shut up, you'll be eating the back of my foot real soon!" Heather countered.

"Come on guys!" Courtney intervened. "There's just ten minutes until tonight's vote, so can you guys try not to drive me insane until then?"

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, girl!" Leshawna retorted. "If you think you're voting out Harold tonight, you've already failed."

"What makes you think I'm voting for Harold? It could be you for all I know."

"Because you glare at him like every two minutes!"

"Well you stare at him every two minutes! You've got to be concussed or something if you've really fallen for that jerk!"

"You're calling my man a jerk? That's real funny! Who's boyfriend has been to jail before?"

"Duncan and I are NOT going out! You take that back!"

"Courtney, you hypocrite! You're starting to drive _me _insane!" Heather shouted, trying to end the petty argument.

"Well forget this, I'm out of here!" Leshawna yelled as she stormed out of the trailer.

"I sure hope she means out of the game," Courtney mumbled as she turned her back to the doorway.

"Courtney, that was a little harsh, don't you think?" Beth asked out of concern.

"Not really. I just want Harold out of here just to make things easier on me," Courtney responded. "Say, maybe you'd want to help me."

"No way! Harold doesn't deserve to go home!" Beth said, rejected Courtney's idea.

"It's just that he's such a huge threat," Courtney lied. "You've seen him win challenges. Do you really want to be up against him in the final two?"

"Well…no," Beth answered in reluctance.

"Exactly. Voting for Harold would be best for all of us. Come on, it's almost time to vote," Courtney said as she walked out of the trailer. Beth followed, visibly sulking with every step.

"Wait up! I want to vote for Harold too!" Lindsay shouted, blindly making the decision to follow Courtney's lead.

"Hold on Lindsay!" Heather said as she grabbed Lindsay's shoulder.

"Cool! You're gonna vote with the three of us!" Lindsay gleefully shouted.

"Uh…there's actually someone else I was hoping you'd vote for."

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Leshawna: You've had this coming for a long time. There ain't no way you're hurting anyone here this time around. If only your hair could've grown back faster, so I could shave it off again myself!

Courtney: *rubs hands* I can't wait for Chris to reveal the results! Harold's definitely going to freak out tonight…at least if he doesn't faint first. He does have about a hundred different allergies.

Beth: I'm so, _so_ sorry about this! I hope we can still be friends after this whole mess is all over.

Heather: I have to say, I think I might have single-handedly turned this whole vote around.

Lindsay: I think Heather may have a point this time. It would be a good idea to vote out…uh…what was his name again?

Duncan: Look, I know we've had our differences, but trust me, this isn't personal. At least, I don't think it is. You _did_ say some pretty nasty stuff about me at that spa trip you had. You know, the spa trip that you STOLE from your own team! Okay, I lied. This is totally personal now.

Justin: You know, I admire women who speak their mind. Too bad it usually ends up getting them kicked off shows like these.

Harold: *has his hands on his head* What do I do? What do I do? There is no way out of this! Darn it! Don't panic Harold. This will all be okay…oh, who am I kidding?

* * *

The eight competitors sat on the bleachers facing the stage. As the Gilded Chris Ceremony theme played, Chris and Chef walked out on stage. Chris wore his usual blue tuxedo, while Chef wore a pink dress and a pink chef's hat. Nearly everyone's faces blanched at the sight, including most of the cameramen.

"All right dudes and dudettes, it is time to once again cast your votes," Chris announced as the eight teens took out voting devices from under the bleachers. Courtney glared at Harold for the thousandth time as she cast her vote. Leshawna smirked, as she was almost certain of the outcome. Duncan snickered as he elbowed Harold, whose finger was shaking as he pressed a button.

"Nice, the votes are in, and I have to say, these results are actually surprising. For the first time in Total Drama history, every vincible contestant received at least one vote."

"Vincible? Don't you mean vulnerable?" Courtney asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No, vincible. You know, the opposite of invincible," Chris responded. Courtney rolled her eyes. "Heather, what's your explanation for the split?"

"It's because these idiots don't know how to organize themselves, obviously," Heather said with that condescending tone of hers.

"And Harold, you look like you've seen better days. Why so nervous all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing! I didn't do anything guilt-inducing or anything!" Harold answered, fumbling with words for a response.

"I see…" Chris said, not entirely convinced. "Anyway, it's time to see who's going to get the greatest award ever on TV: the Gilded Chris! The person who doesn't receive a Gilded Chris will have to take the Walk of Shame, catch a ride on the Lame-o-sine, and won't be able to come back…EVER!" There wasn't a single person laid back in their seat. Even the safe ones were feeling tense.

"First off, we have the invincibility winners, a.k.a. the former Killer Grips team," Chris said as he turned to Chef, who was holding seven Gilded Chrises on a platter."

"Courtney! Justin! Lindsay! Beth! You're all safe tonight," Chris stated as he tossed a Gilded Chris to each of them. "Well, it looks like the once-dominant Gaffers aren't looking so tough now," he said as he looked at the four vulnerable castmates, mainly Harold, who was starting to shake.

"Now for the person who received the least votes…Heather."

"Hold on!" Leshawna protested. "How could you guys not vote for Heather?" Beth sank in her seat. Heather smiled as she caught her Gilded Chris.

"Hehe, bet you didn't see that coming. Now for the next one…Harold."

"Dammit Chris! I demand a recount!" Courtney objected.

"Dude, the votes were counted electronically. Considering there were just eight votes, I seriously doubt the system could have screwed up." Courtney pouted as she sat back in her seat.

"Now there's just one left," Chris said as he looked toward Duncan and Leshawna, both of whom looked confident that the final award was going to them. Harold looked to the ground, feeling ashamed.

"Duncan, you acted like a real douchebag toward pretty much everyone, and you actually got away with it most of the time!" Duncan wasn't offended by Chris's remark. Actually, he was proud of it.

"Leshawna, you came off as a relatively likable person, although your big mouth certainly didn't help." Leshawna scowled at Chris for that insult.

"Sadly (or happily, depending on how you look at it), only one of you is safe tonight, and that person is…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…Duncan."

"Nice!" Duncan shouted as he caught the last Gilded Chris. "No hard feelings, I hope," he said as he put his hand on Leshawna's shoulder.

"I guess not," Leshawna said, looking sad as she started to walk toward the Lame-o-sine. "You guys take care now, and make sure to beat the hell out of that nasty, stuck-up drama queen over there!"

"Which one?" Justin asked jokingly. Duncan punched him hard in the arm. "Ouch! I was just kidding you know!"

"Harold, baby! You're definitely going to win this, you hear me!" Leshawna shouted. There was no response, as he had already ran back to the trailers.

As Leshawna got in the Lame-o-sine, Chris walked up to the camera. "Well, that was certainly a tense vote we had. Several burning questions remain though. How in the hell did this vote turn out the way it did? Will Harold get over the depression that will most likely follow? Which unlucky contender will be the next to go? And the question we're all wondering is…who in the hell celebrates Christmas in the summer? I know some countries are forced to, but still, that's just freaking ridiculous. Anyway, catch us next time on Total…Drama…Action!"

"…and we're good." The cameraman said as Chris finished.

"Nice. Time to grab me some hot cocoa…" Chris said as he started heading toward his trailer.

"Wait up Chris! There's something you gotta see!" Chef said as he ran up to the host.

"This had better be important! Is Teletoon filing for bankruptcy already?"

"No dude! I found this passport lying on the ground near Studio 14! I think this belongs to that kid who keeps sneaking in here!" Chef handed Chris a U.S. passport.

"Awesome! Let me see! What does this idiot look like?" Chris looked at the passport and saw that the trenchcoat-clad boy had short black hair and brown eyes. He had a dark complexion and his nationality was listed as "African-American". What really struck Chef as odd was the boy's name.

"Yu Suxxorz…what kind of a dumb parent would name their kid that anyway?" Chef asked.

"Let's see…Yu…you…oh! I see what he did there!" Chris said as he chuckled. "Looks like he's trying to mess with us, and the feds, and…pretty much everyone."

"He's probably trying to flee by crossing the border, that desperate little…" Chef said, starting to get frustrated. "Don't we have enough criminals on this show?"

"Judging by the way he looks in this picture here, I'm not surprised he'd do such things," Chris said, still laughing. He looked at Chef, who for some reason, was seething with anger at him. "What's wrong dude? I just said…oh no! No! Chef, I didn't mean it like that! I was talking about his mugshot-"

"You're a dead man Chris!" Chef screamed as he pulled out his cleaver. Chris screamed like a three-year-old girl as he ran for the hills. "One of these days, Cleveland…" Chef said, talking to the cleaver that he apparently named. "One of these days, you will get yourself a kill."

* * *

Votes

**Beth: **Harold

**Courtney: **Harold

**Duncan: **Leshawna

**Harold: **Leshawna

**Heather: **Duncan

**Justin: **Leshawna

**Leshawna: **Heather

**Lindsay: **Duncan

Vote Count

**Leshawna: **3  
**Duncan: **2  
**Harold: **2  
**Heather: **1

Eliminated: Geoff, Bridgette, Trent, Gwen, DJ, Izzy, Owen, Leshawna

Remaining: Beth, Courtney, Duncan, Harold, Heather, Justin, Lindsay

* * *

I extend my sincerest apologies to all Leshawna fans out there. I'm quite a fan myself actually. Why did I do it as opposed to Heather in the real show? Well, Heather didn't actually do anything in TDA. I may as well get her to make a move or two while she's still here…or maybe even let her win. Who knows? Certainly not any of you. :) Hope to see more reviews. I'd really like to know how you guys feel.


	5. E16,P1:Mother Nature Still Sucks

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

**Author's Note: **Jeez, it took me over two months to update? Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, but when you're bombarded with schoolwork, you barely have any time to do anything else. I assure you, though, that this story is not dead. No brutal education system can keep me down. :)

* * *

Episode 3, Part 1: Mother Nature Still Sucks

_Somewhere at the Ontario-Minnesota border…_

"What do you mean I can't cross the border? Do you know how long it took me to get here!?!"

"I'm really soo'ry eh, but I'm not allowed to let you back into the United States without any I.D." the Canadian border official explained.

"Well I told you, I can't effing find it! What do you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to search for it. Come on now, just retrace your steps."

"But what you don't know is that in this particular case, retracing my steps involves a slight risk of a painful death!"

"I really doubt that."

"Apparently you don't know exactly what I'm up against."

"It can't be helped, I'm afraid. Best of luck, eh! I knoo' you'll be able to find it in no time!"

"Damn. Everything is just going downhill for me," said the African-American. The film lot in Toronto was the only place he visited while in Canada, so it had to be there. Unfortunately, he was certain that Chris and Chef had beefed up security in order to make sure he doesn't sneak there again. He was sure that he'd need the combined abilities of Solid Snake and Sam Fisher to have even a small chance of surviving.

* * *

"Last time on Total Drama Action, Christmas came early this year as the teams competing in one of the most bizarre challenges I've ever created. First we had them play a little basketball, but instead of a ball, they had to throw in gifts of varying sizes. Justin brilliantly exploited a loophole in the rules to allow the Killer Grips to take control of the first part, knocking down fourteen shots and giving them a huge advantage over the favorites, the Screaming Gaffers. I really should find a way to cover up the hundreds of loopholes that the rulebook has but…this just makes it _way _more fun!"

"Part two is where it really started to get good. The castmates had to use the most random objects in order to knock out targets. It looked like the Screaming Gaffers were going to mount an epic comeback, but Mr. Hotstuff himself saved the day! The Killer Grips won their first challenge of the season _without _cheating, and all four team members received invincibility. It sure came in handy because, by a cruel twist of fate, I decided to dissolve the teams right there and then! I don't think anyone could've seen that coming!"

"As I expected, alliances formed right away. Duncan decided to revive the Guy's Alliance from season one, although considering they only had three members, they needed a crapload of luck in order to control the vote…and that's exactly what happened! For the second season in a row, the girls' votes were horribly split as the guys had their way in the end. Leshawna was the unfortunate victim, although Harold was the one left in an even less fortunate state. Oh well! Sucks for him! Today's challenge will be full of danger and suspense, and it will take us back to the beloved setting of last season: Camp Wawanakwa! It's all happening today on Total…Drama…Action!"

* * *

"Lindsay?"

"Yeah Beth?"

"Is this really worth it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Our efforts to stay alive in this game caused our own friend to get voted out. Should we really throw away our morals just for a million dollars?"

"…you're thinking about this too much."

"You think so?"

"Totally. Lequeesha wouldn't blame us."

"You're so right Lindsay. What would I ever do without you?"

Beth and Lindsay shared a warm embrace as Heather looked on from across the room. "Why is it that you guys always have to worry so much about being nice? That won't win you a million bucks."

"That's not true," Beth retaliated. "We have just as much of a chance as anyone."

"If by 'anyone' you mean 'everyone except me', then yes, you definitely have a chance."

Beth sighed and looked down at the floor. "Well bestie, it's just you and me now."

"Unless if we get Carly's help!" Lindsay shouted, pointing toward Courtney.

"You're right!" Beth exclaimed with hope in her voice. "Uh…except for the 'Carly' part."

"If you guys want something, the answer is no," Courtney dismissed.

"But all we want is an alliance! Please?" Lindsay pleaded.

"Lindsay, you're not supposed to ask outright for an alliance!" Beth shouted.

"Forget it. You had your little alliance with Leshawna and you couldn't even vote for the same person. If I wanted an alliance, I would try to find someone loyal, someone who has the competence to listen to your orders…"

"You mean someone like Duncan?" Beth asked while snickering.

"Yes, someone like-no! Not like that ogre! Come on!" Courtney answered as her face started to turn red.

"Or someone like Henry?" Lindsay asked.

"Especially not him! Ugh! Forget you idiots! You're on your own!" Courtney yelled as she left the trailer.

Heather laid back in bed as she started to chuckle. "Good luck with that alliance thing of yours. I'm positive one of you is going home tonight."

Lindsay looked crestfallen, but Beth patted her on the shoulder in comfort. "Don't worry, there's no way any of the others would vote us out," Beth assured.

* * *

"Justin! Get up! Come on!" Duncan shouted, trying to shake Justin awake.

"Just ten more minutes," Justin mumbled as if he had been talking to his mom.

"I don't think the ladies would really want to look at a guy with a bruised face," Duncan threatened.

"Okay! Okay!" Justin exclaimed, raising his hands in defense. "Why do you gotta wake me up this early anyway?" he asked, rubbing his eyelids.

"Because Harold's been awake for quite a while now," Duncan replied, jerking a thumb toward the lanky teen. "We've got half an hour to plan out our strategy for the day."

"Won't today just be a reward challenge?" Justin asked.

"I don't believe so," Harold answered. "The producers only ordered 26 episodes this season as opposed to 27. I've done the math, and if we keep going in that alternating pattern, there's no way this season will finish in 26. Then there are those Aftermath shows I've been hearing about. That just complicates things further."

"So you're saying that today could actually be an elimination episode?

"It's a definite possibility."

"Guys, relax," Duncan said. "If we have to vote someone out tonight, we'll be well prepared. But first off, I want to lay down some ground rules for our new alliance." Harold and Justin both groaned as a response.

"Rule one, it is your mission to gather as much information on the enemy as possible."

Justin raised his hand. "And the enemy would be…"

"Anyone that's not us, of course," Duncan responded. "Rule two, never fraternize with the enemy. That applies to you, pretty boy."

"But that's a part of my strategy!" Justin protested. "Can't you-"

"Nope," Duncan interrupted. "Rule three, failure to comply with rule two will ensure that you'll get voted out."

"Why do I get the feeling that rule two was based around Courtney?" Harold whispered to Justin.

"Now that we have that settled, let's win today's challenge, invincibility or not," Duncan said.

"I don't know if I'm up for it," Harold sulked.

"If this is about Leshawna, let me tell you that it was 100% necessary to vote her out," Duncan responded.

"Yeah, I mean, I get the feeling she would have just gotten in our way," Justin added.

"Do you guys even care about how I feel!?!" Harold shouted as he headed toward the door.

"Not really. Don't worry, I'll get you some bacon later, just don't walk out on this alliance! Come on!" Duncan pleaded as he followed Harold.

"What the heck does bacon have to do with anything?" Justin asked.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Harold: Idiots! Why is it that I'm the only one sacrificing anything for this alliance? And another thing…why the heck did Duncan keep pushing bacon towards my nose? He was acting pretty bizarre that morning.

Beth: I'm a bit scared now, considering that Leshawna is gone and the only person I have left is Lindsay. She's nice and all, but I wish I had a better competitor with me…oh my gosh! I wasn't being mean, was I?

Chef: *sharpens a kitchen knife* The next time I see that little intruder, I swear I'll throw this knife so hard at him that it'll- *looks at camera* All right, keep moving along. There's nothing to see here.

* * *

An intern casually strolled down the alleyway of large film studios towards the exit. He was wearing a red shirt that said "INTERN" and a black cap that said "#21". He looked upset as he headed toward his car.

"Man, I hate recon duty. How does Chris expect me to find that dumb Aftermath studio? It could be hidden underground for all I know."

Just as he was about to insert the car key into the door's keyhole, he was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged into a bush. Punches were heard landing as the bushes loudly rustled during the struggle. An 18-year-old boy stepped out of the bushes, sporting the intern's shirt and cap. He had short blond hair, blue eyes, and a short goatee, and he was quite muscular for his age.

"I can't believe that I have to bail that kid out," he mumbled. "Who the hell loses track of a passport in the first place?"

The boy's cell phone conveniently rang as he reached the entrance of the film lot.

"Hello?"

"Dude, did you get in?"

"Yeah, and I managed to get a disguise too."

"Great. Now remember, that disguise is supposed to be insurance. Avoid Chris at all costs, or you could get into as much trouble as the American kid."

"Relax. I may not be a reconnaissance man like he is, but I'm a hell of a lot more stealthy."

"Stealthy? You stick out like a sore thumb!"

"Then why did you give me this job? Couldn't you have given it to Lenny instead?"

"Lenny is busy on a real important investigation, and you're my number two guy."

"Yeah, thanks…nice to know what the pecking order is around here."

"Just get your butt in there Karl, and quit complaining!"

"Fine," Karl said as he shut off his cell phone.

* * *

"Here Courtney," Justin said as he returned the CIT's PDA.

"So, what did your parents say?" Courtney asked.

"My what? Oh, they said they were real proud of me…for hanging in there…and stuff," Justin answered unconvincingly.

Courtney shrugged her shoulders. "Okay then," she said as she walked away.

"What is up, dudes?" Chris asked as he barged into the tent in his usual "grand" entrance.

"Tired," Heather answered.

"Bored," Duncan responded.

"Incredibly annoyed," Courtney mumbled as she looked toward Beth and Lindsay.

"Do you even need to ask?" Harold moaned, clearly distraught.

"Interesting to hear," Chris said while rubbing his chin. "Anyways, I guess I should be the first to tell you guys that today's episode will be an elimination episode. Haha! I bet there's no way any of you saw that coming!"

Duncan slapped Harold on the back as if to say "Nice call!" but Harold didn't seem to respond.

"Thank goodness!" Heather shouted. "The faster I can get these losers out of this film lot, the better."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Don't get too cocky, because it could be you going home tonight."

"You wanna say that to my face?" Heather threatened. Beth sank in her chair, too nervous to do anything.

"And I bear even more good news!" Chris exclaimed as his grin widened. "For today's challenge, we will be returning to Camp Wawanakwa…again!"

"Son of a…" Duncan grunted as he slammed his head on the table.

"What kind of a place would have a funny name like that?" Lindsay asked.

"Seriously? You've forgotten already?" Chris asked, starting to get annoyed. "Maybe that good memories montage will help cheer you guys up."

Chris's suggestion was met with a resounding "NO THANK YOU!" from the seven teens.

"All right, all right. We're rolling out in five. Let's get moving Chef."

"Yeah, yeah, one sec," Chef responded as he placed his knife back in its holster.

"Chef! We've got movement around the studios!" a crew member shouted. Chef immediately grabbed his knife and bolted out the door.

"Wait! Hold on dude!" Chris cried as he attempted to chase after him. "You're not gonna catch him! Just give it up! Damn. I can't drive the bus myself."

"Is there a problem around here?" Courtney asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Problem? No! Of course not! This crew is too good to have any problems!" Chris retaliated as his voice was starting to crack. "Just wait one sec."

Chris ran toward the studios in a desperate attempt to find an intern who could replace Chef as the bus driver. To his luck, he found Karl, who was wandering around the film lot trying to locate his comrade in danger.

"_Caught already!?! Dammit, maybe I do stick out like a sore thumb."_

"Uh…what's up Chris? Just taking a stroll, you know. Not like I have anything better to do," Karl said, trying to get out of this mess.

"Nothing to do, huh?" Chris asked with his face beaming. "Come with me! You're on bus duty today."

"Do I seriously have to? Can't one of the cameramen do it?"

"They can't drive a bus! Those idiots only know how to operate a camera!"

"I fail to see the logic behind that."

"You do have a driver's license, right?"

"Yeah, but not one to drive a-"

"Good enough! Now let's move! We can't waste anymore precious filming time."

"I freaking hate this job."

"Just look at it this way," Chris said while putting his arm around Karl, "unlike the majority of the interns we've had here, at least you're still alive…for now." That statement alone tempted Carl to make a break for the exit right away, but be was too afraid of blowing his cover to do so.

* * *

The seven competitors lined up in front of the rusty old bus that would take them back to the camp they all know and loathe. Courtney was busy trying to send a message on her PDA. Beth attempted to take a peak, but she was swatted away by Courtney.

"That island is really starting to get on my nerves now," Justin complained.

"_Your_ nerves? You were only there for five episodes last season!" Duncan exclaimed. "There's no way you would have survived the challenges I had to face."

"They didn't look too hard," Justin said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You know what I'm wondering?" Beth inquired. "How is a bus supposed to take us to an island anyway?"

"That, I'm afraid, is top secret," Chris said while butting in. "Good news, I've found a replacement to drive the bus," he announced while patting an annoyed Karl on the shoulder. "I'll explain the challenge when we arrive, and in the meantime, the bus's bathroom will be temporarily converted into a portable confession cam."

"What about that old outhouse at Wawanakwa?" Harold asked.

"After Owen stank it up in the season one finale, the crew insisted that we get rid of it. Eventually it was stolen by fanboys, sold on eBay, and donated to the Reality TV Hall of Fame."

"All of that happened in a few weeks?"

"In a few _hours_, actually. Any more questions before we leave?"

Before Chris could rush onto the bus, Lindsay's hand shot up.

"What if we have to go during the bus ride?"

"Hmm…I never really thought about that. All right, anyone who has to take a leak should do so now. It's a long ride after all."

Lindsay immediately rushed toward the restroom with Beth trailing her. As everyone else climbed on board, Karl looked back toward the studios.

"Sorry dude. Looks like you're on your own."

"Who the heck are you talking to? Get in here already!" Chris called from the bus window. Karl sighed as the trudged up the steps and sat down in the driver's seat. It took a whole twenty minutes before Lindsay and Beth finally returned. The bus slowly made its way towards Camp Wawanakwa (somehow), although Chris kept pestering Karl to drive faster.

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Justin: *looks around* Man, this place feels even more cramped than the outhouse. At least the smell has improved. *takes a deep breath, then covers his nose* Ugh, I guess improved doesn't necessarily mean good.

Heather: Why do those idiot producers insist on placing confession cams in bathrooms? How the heck am I supposed to think in here? The only thing better about this is that Owen isn't around anymore.

Karl: Freaking FFB…why the hell are they sending me on some stupid search and rescue mission for the recon guy? Now I'm stuck with Chris for the rest of the day, and I'll surely be blamed if the American dude ends up dead. Wait a minute. If I'm in here, who's driving the bus? *eyes widen* Oh sh-

* * *

As Karl was running back to the driver's seat, Duncan slowly made his way to Courtney, who was sitting alone.

"Well, it appears that someone is without any allies. Perhaps I can be of service," Duncan proposed, trying to sound as suave as possible. Courtney didn't say anything.

"Courtney? Princess? What's going on with you?" he asked, starting to lean in closer to her. Courtney retaliated by shoving Duncan across the aisle into the seat opposite from hers.

"I don't need any help from lowlifes, thank you very much," Courtney said angrily. Duncan ended up landing in the seat right in front of Heather.

"Still having problems?" Heather asked. "That's why you shouldn't entangle yourself in complicated relationships."

"Are you kidding me?" Duncan shot back. "When this show is over, you'll be lonely, and I won't. That's all that matters in the end."

"So you're saying you don't want to win?"

"Well…I do want to win, but I'm definitely not going down your path."

"And yet we're in the same predicament. We're both hated by everyone else around here." Duncan opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't find a counterargument. "I thought so," Heather said with a devilish smile.

"You know what? Just for that, you can consider yourself eliminated by the end of today!" Duncan furiously shouted.

"Let me guess, that's just another one of your empty threats, right? What happens afterward? Do you really consider your little boy's alliance to be trustworthy? " Heather asked. Duncan was stunned. For the first time this season, he actually felt intimidated by the opposition. He wasn't about to show it, though.

"I know that you're just saying all that stuff because you don't have anybody to back you up. You're just a sitting duck!" Duncan responded.

"How about a proposal," Heather offered. "We could form a power alliance just like the one we had last season-"

"You mean the same alliance where I had to do YOUR penalty for not completing the challenge?" Duncan asked, clearly irritated.

"Forget that. All you need to do is help me take out whomever I want for the next three eliminations. When the final four comes around, we'll split up, and it'll become a free-for-all. Come on! You don't want to see some idiot take home the million dollars, do you?"

Duncan paused for what seemed like forever until finally giving an answer. "Fine, I'll do it, but if you dare try to backstab me before the final four, you're going to pay."

"I can live with that," Heather said with a smug grin.

Near the front of the bus, Justin made his way toward Lindsay and Beth, who were staring out the window.

"Keep an eye out Lindsay," Beth said. "We might be able to see how this bus can travel to an island."

"Hey girls!" Justin greeted. "What's going on here?"

"Uh…we're not trying to uncover any secrets or anything!" Beth answered as she started to stutter.

"Secrets, huh? Maybe you'd like to share some of those with me. I could be willing to help you out," Justin tempted.

"As incredibly handsome as you are…I'm afraid I can't" Beth said apologetically.

"Oh…are you sure about that?" Justin asked, sounding disappointed. "Lindsay what about-"

"For the last freakin' time, I'm not Tyler!" Karl yelled at Lindsay, who snuck over to the front of the bus.

"But you kind of look like him," Lindsay said.

"Trust me, I know what Tyler looks like, and I see no resemblance" Karl responded, losing his patience. At that moment, the bus went over a speed bump at high speeds, sending a jolt through the bus that nearly knocked everyone out of their seats.

"Whoa dude! I didn't know you were such a daredevil!" Chris exclaimed, starting to get excited.

"Hey, I was being distracted, dammit!" Karl shouted in defense.

"Come on you dumb driver!" Courtney yelled. "If you get me injured, I'm gonna get John to sue you for all you've got."

"Yeah, yeah, big deal…wait, _who's_ going to sue me?" Karl asked while turning to face the CIT. Karl only had his right hand on the steering wheel, and without even knowing, his hand started to turn the bus to the right. Before the bus could swerve off the road, Chris intervened and turned the steering wheel back to the left.

"Okay, I think that's enough for one day," Chris said, nearly panicking over the near-disaster. "I appreciate the guts, though."

"I keep telling you…oh, what's the use?" Karl conceded.

"Well that was pretty awkward," Beth said, laughing about the whole situation. The second that she turned to look outside the window again, the bus came to a stop.

"Finally, we're here! Everybody off!" Chris announced. "That includes you, stuntman," he said to Karl.

"And there goes my escape plan," Karl muttered as he stepped off the bus.

"Aww! But I didn't get to see how we got here!" Beth complained.

"Maybe when we get back," Justin consoled as he patted her on the back. Beth's spirits were quickly lifted as she followed the model off the bus.

* * *

Chris, Karl, and the seven competitors met at the outdoor auditorium. Beth and Lindsay were the only two that sat together. Everyone else found their own corner of the bleachers and sat alone.

"Okay dudes, today's challenge will be based off a genre that you should all be experienced in by now: the wilderness genre!"

"Gee, I never would've seen that coming," Duncan said sarcastically.

"Of course you wouldn't," Chris replied. "Today's challenge involves braving the four deadly elements of nature: earth, water, wind, and fire. There are four stations located somewhere on this island that require you to perform a task related to those elements. Ultimately, your goal is to collect an orange flag upon completing a task," he explained while holding up a flag for reference. "You're only required to collect three flags."

"In addition, because today is the _second _time in season _two_ that we're holding a challenge on a _Tuesday_," Chris said, trying to stress the joke as much as possible, "there will be _two_ invincibility winners today. First two people to collect three flags and return here will win. And another thing: you're allowed to team up with each other to find the stations, but the teams can't be larger than _two_. Man, I'm on a roll today. Oh yeah, and when you actually get there, you can't help each other complete the task. I'll be watching you guys, so don't try anything sneaky. Any questions?

Half a dozen hands shot up, with Courtney being the lone exception. "Nobody? All right then," Chris dismissed. "Ready, set, and…ACTION!"

Chris expected a brutal free for all at the start, but instead everyone took their time setting out. "Wow dude, this is really boring," he said, turning to Karl. "There's supposed to be pushing and shoving, and instead they're heading out in an orderly fashion! They're not supposed to do that!"

"You don't say. Hey, why don't I go check on the bus to make sure nobody messes with it?"

"Oh, so you remember that," Chris said as he chuckled. "There's no time for that, though. We need to get to the monitor tent. I got to enforce the rules, you know…for once." Karl snapped his fingers in disappointment that he still couldn't escape.

* * *

"Quick! What's our strategy?" Duncan asked, getting into a huddle with his two alliance members.

"Justin and I will head into the woods," Harold explained, pointing toward the dense forest. "Wait here for five minutes, and then follow us in. We'll leave a track so that you can trail us without actually teaming up with us."

"You really thought this one through, didn't you?" Duncan said, somewhat impressed with the plan.

"That's the thing. Chris makes it so easy for us to bend his rules, it's ridiculous," Justin joked.

Without the other two noticing, Heather pulled Duncan to the side, much to his annoyance.

"What the freaking hell are you doing!?!" he shouted. "Do that again, and you'll be in a wheelchair."

Heather rolled her eyes. "If we want to get an alliance going, we have to help each other win this challenge."

"Sorry, but I've got other plans," Duncan responded, trying to walk away.

"You're so pathetic, following those pawns as if they were your superiors."

"That's not it at all."

"You can't just dismiss the possibility of a mutiny happening," Heather reasoned.

"Well, now that you mention it, I think Harold hates me for last night," Duncan pondered, "and I saw Justin breaking alliance rule number two. Oh god, more 'two' references. That's exactly what I need right now."

"Those are good enough reasons to stick with me," Heather said as she started heading into the woods. "Come on, let's head for the bear cave."

"Why would you possibly think that there's a flag over there?"

"Knowing Chris, he'd put the flags in the most dangerous areas," Heather explained. Duncan was convinced enough to follow her.

"Hey Beth," Lindsay said, "everyone's heading into the woods. Maybe we'll find something there."

"We'll come back to it later," Beth said. "I think we should head towards the lake. One of the elements is water, right?"

"Oh yeah…but how do you know it's at the-"

"Lindsay, just trust me on this one," Beth said while dragging her friend toward the lake.

Courtney glared at everyone else, bitter that she was the odd one out. She immediately stormed toward the bus.

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Courtney: I can't believe no one paired up with me! Even Heather found a partner, and she's ten times worse than I am! I'll make them all pay for that. *takes out PDA*  
Cameraman: *knocks on door* Hey Courtney, instead of wasting time in there, shouldn't you be out there completing the challenge?  
Courtney: Shut up, or you'll be out of a job!  
Cameraman: *in a high-pitched voice* Please don't sue me! I have a wife and two kids! You can't do this! *cries*  
Courtney: Pathetic.

* * *

Harold found the first station quickly. While walking along a trail, he spotted a sign in the distance.

"Justin, I found one!" Harold called out. Justin kept walking.

"You go on ahead, I'll see if there's another one around here," Justin said.

Harold walked into a clearing where there were seven small towers made entirely out of sticks. More twigs were laid out in a circle surrounding each tower like a boundary. Sitting at each tower was a piece of flint, a pocket knife, a bucket filled with gasoline, and a larger bucket filled with water. Harold walked up toward the sign in the middle of the clearing.

_Trial by Fire-Burn the stick towers until you can retrieve your flag. Be careful, though. Fire is a deadly force, and it must be controlled. If the fire burns beyond the twigs encircling the tower, you are disqualified from retrieving a flag from this area. Water is provided for you if things get too hairy._

"Now this doesn't sound too difficult," Harold said as he walked toward the tower labeled with his name. He poured half of the gasoline onto his tower and ignited it after striking the flint a couple of times. After waiting half a minute, he realized that the stick tower was burning far too slowly. He tried pouring more gasoline, but hesitated out of fear of creating an inferno.

"There's no rule that says I can't leave and come back," Harold figured as he returned to the trail and started heading in Justin's direction.

About five minutes after Harold left, a crew member walked toward the sign and removed it.

"I swear, Chris has no balls whatsoever. There's just no reason for him to let any of this happen," he said as he put another sign in its place.

* * *

After almost half an hour of searching, Beth and Lindsay finally found another station near the Dock of Shame.

_Aquatic Confrontation-Retrieve a flag from one of the seven water animals waiting below. They range from being as harmless as a lake trout to as deadly as a freakin' shark. If you find yourself in danger, you can signal a scuba diver for help (did I mention that he's carrying a harpoon?), but this will disqualify you from getting this area's flag._

"I don't want to hurt any of those poor animals," Lindsay said, sounding concerned.

"We're the first ones here, right? I don't think it'll have to come to that," Beth assured. She removed her shoes and jumped into the lake. It took her just thirty seconds to resurface with a flag.

"Nice one, BFF!" Lindsay squealed. "Did you go for the easy one?"

"No, I left the trout for you. I swiped this one from a friendly sea turtle," Beth said, smiling at her accomplishment.

"Aww, that's so sweet of you," Lindsay said as she hugged her best friend. The blonde dove into the lake and came up with the flag shortly afterward.

"So, where do we go next?" Lindsay asked.

"I'm guessing over there," Beth answered as she turned around and pointed toward the cliff, where several balloons were floating just below the summit of the mountain.

"Don't tell me we have to jump off again," Lindsay complained as she reluctantly followed Beth toward the 1,000-foot mountain.

* * *

"Ah, the bear cave. This brings back some _good _memories, doesn't it?" Duncan reminisced.

"Sorry, but Izzy isn't here anymore, so don't go expecting a repeat of last time!" Heather retaliated.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be following Harold and me?"

Duncan turned around and saw Justin, who was looking slightly peeved that the criminal deviated from the plan.

"Sorry man, but I lost track and just ended up wandering here," Duncan lied.

"Then how did you get here before me? And more importantly, what are you doing with Heather? Did you forget rule number two or what?" Justin asked, scratching his head.

"Enough with the freaking 'twos' dammit!" Duncan shouted as he placed his hand on his forehead.

"Let me just see what I'm supposed to do here," Justin said as he walked up toward the sign near the cave's entrance.

_The Test of Earth-Pick up the nearby shovels and dig in the marked area inside the cave until you find a box containing the flag. Warning: the local bear may or may not be residing inside the cave. Once you enter, if you leave the cave empty-handed, you will not be allowed to reenter._

"We only get one shot at this?" Justin asked.

"I'm gonna be so ticked if I run into that dumb bear again," Heather groaned as she grabbed a shovel and walked into the cave first.

"Now this should be fun," Duncan eagerly said while following Heather.

Justin stood there for a few minutes, waiting to see just how long it would take for the two to get the flag.

"Hmm…it sure is taking a while now," Justin noticed.

"Justin!" Harold shouted as he ran up to meet his teammate.

"Harold, I'm not sure if this station is worth it," Justin said, pointing toward the sign.

Harold took a moment to read the sign. "Come on, Justin. They're just trying to get in your head. I'm positive that this cave is empty of bears."

Justin still was not convinced. "I think Chris would _want _us to think that, when in reality, we'll get mauled the second that we take a step in there."

"If it makes you feel any better, the fire challenge in the woods is pretty simple. It's just time consuming, that's all," Harold assured. "I still have to go back there to get the flag."

"All right. I guess I'll meet you over there, then," Justin said as he backtracked toward the clearing in the woods. Harold took a deep breath and marched in the opposite direction, into the mouth of the cave.

Justin returned to the site of the fire challenge within five minutes. Without even reading the sign, he figured out what he had to do. He started to reach out for the flint and knife.

"Ahem!"

Justin was interrupted before he could pick up the objects. He looked around to see if anyone was there, but couldn't find anybody. He reached for the knife again.

"Ahem!"

"Okay, who the hell is doing that? That's not cool!" Justin complained.

"Over here dude!" Justin turned around to face a cameraman. "Read the sign! You nearly disqualified yourself there!"

"Isn't it illegal for a crew member to help the competitors?" Justin asked.

"Do you want to win invincibility or not?" the cameraman asked.

Justin trudged over to the task's sign, thinking that there was nothing new that he needed to know. His eyes widened upon reading the sign.

_Trial by Fire-Burn the stick towers until you can retrieve your flag. Be careful, though. Fire is a deadly force, and it must be controlled. If the fire burns beyond the twigs encircling the tower, you are disqualified from retrieving a flag from this area. Water is provided for you if things get too hairy. You are not allowed to use your hands for any part of this task._

Justin blinked. "You cannot be serious."

* * *

"Oh man, that's an instant classic right there!" Chris bellowed. He nearly fell back in his chair from laughing too much. One of the monitors showed Justin attempting to start a fire using his feet, but he wasn't making much progress.

Karl looked annoyed as he sat next to the host. "Why the heck does Justin have to use his feet when Harold was allowed to start the fire with his hands."

"I could tell you, but that means you'll be on challenge-testing duty for the next week."

Karl cringed at the thought. "I think I'll pass on that."

"Whatever you say, dude," Chris said as he pulled out a hot dog.

"Wait a minute, why haven't we seen Courtney on any of these monitors?" Karl wondered.

"I dunno," Chris answered. "Ever since she left for the bus cam, none of the monitors picked up her position."

Karl gave Chris a suspicious look, but before he could ask any more questions, his cell phone rang.

"Shoot, what could he want now," Karl mumbled as he ran outside the tent. Chris merely shrugged his shoulders and turned back toward the monitors. Karl fumbled his cell phone a bit out of panic before finally answering it.

"What's up dude?" Karl greeted.

"Well, did you find him?"

"Uh…I kind of ran into a roadblock."

"Come on! Lenny would've been back by now, bragging about how easy the mission was."

"Quit comparing me to that bum!"

"Ugh, the American branch of the FFB isn't going to like this."

"So what if one guy gets killed in action. What's the worst that could happen?"

"The worst that could happen is that you get discharged, that's what."

"Good point. I'll have him across the border by the end of the day."

"You better."

* * *

"Come on! Passports don't just disappear like this!" The African-American boy searched up and down the film lot, but to no avail.

"If it's not on the ground…damn! Don't tell me that insane chef has it! I'm dead for sure."

As he continued to run around the studios, he eventually collided with another person. The boy fell to the ground with a slight head injury.

"Ouch! My bad, sir," he apologized while trying to collect his bearings. "Say, have you seen a U.S. passport around here?"

"You mean this?" the man asked as he handed over the passport.

"Oh, thanks a lot, I…HOLY CRAP!"

The boy found himself face-to-face with Chef, who was wielding one of his bigger kitchen knives.

"You better say your prayers, boy! Today, I add another person to my kill count!"

"And your kill count would be…"

"I don't need some punk knowing what my kill count is!"

"It's zero, isn't it?"

"Not anymore, it ain't!" An infuriated Chef raised his knife and prepared to impale his victim. The boy put up his hands in defense, thinking that it would do him any good.

* * *

Karl returned to the monitor tent with a look of irritation still on his face.

"Come on, dude!" Chris exclaimed as he patted the empty seat next to him. "You're missing out on some golden footage here! Not all of this will make it on the air, you know."

"Yeah, whatever," Karl said as he slouched in his seat.

"Well, we're about halfway through the episode, and there are still many questions to be raised. What the heck is Justin doing at the fire challenge? Will anyone get mauled by bears? Where has Courtney run off to? And most intriguing of all…what the heck is this guy's problem?" Chris asked as he pointed toward Karl.

"I don't have a problem, you do!" Karl retaliated.

"Right…the answers to these questions can be found after the break, so stay tuned!"

* * *

Score

**Beth: **1 (currently at Water)  
**  
Lindsay: **1 (currently at Water)  
**  
Duncan: **0 (currently at Earth)  
**  
Harold: **0 (currently at Earth)  
**  
Heather: **0 (currently at Earth)  
**  
Justin: **0 (currently at Fire)  
**  
Courtney: **0 (location unknown)

* * *

Haha! It is funny because this chapter was uploaded on a Tuesday! But enough with the jokes. Read and review plz. Next chapter should be coming soon (I hope).


	6. E16,P2:Not a Rule to be Had

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

**Author's Note: **Hmm…you know, if I was a real writer, I wouldn't take so damn long to update. Unacceptable, I say!

* * *

Episode 3, Part 2: Not a Rule to be Had

"Yo! Chef!" an intern called out as he walked into the craft services tent. "Chris sent a real urgent telegram. I don't know _why _he sent a telegram. I always thought that telegrams were supposed to be ancient stuff by now. Maybe he's just being a cheap old bastard again. Anyways, I suppose what really matters is that-"

The intern stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the scene inside the kitchen. A red substance was splattered all over the floor. Chef kept stabbing something with his knife. The body of a seventeen-year-old boy lay on the ground, and it didn't appear to be moving. With his eyes wide and his jaw agape, the intern fled the tent, dropping Chris's telegram in the process.

"Hmm…I wonder what his problem was," Chef muttered as shrugged off the incident and continued to chop some unidentifiable meat. "Anyway, thanks again for helping me out with dinner. I didn't think you'd agree after all those times I nearly killed you," he said to the boy.

"No problem," the African-American responded as he got up off the floor. "Sorry 'bout the tomatoes, though. I didn't think they'd burst so easily," he apologized as he attempted to wipe the red pulp off his sleeves. "So why the change of heart?"

"A part of me couldn't bring myself to finish you off," Chef explained.

"I knew you were a big softie deep down," the boy said as he slapped Chef on the back.

"And if you dare to tell anyone else, I won't be so hesitant next time," Chef threatened, pointing a finger in the boy's face.

"Okay then…I'll be taking my leave now."

"Whoa! Hold on now! Don't think I'll be letting you off that easily."

"What? Come on, man! What else do I have to do?"

Chef smirked. "This is gonna get real interesting."

* * *

"How much longer do we have to walk?" Lindsay whined. "We've been at this for hours."

"Lindsay, we've been walking for five minutes," Beth responded.

"Oh. How long is an hour again?"

"Never mind that. We're already halfway there," Beth said, still hopeful. The pair had just completed the water challenge and were heading toward the huge cliff, where their next objective awaited.

"Hey Lindsay, look up there!" the farm girl shouted as she pointed to the top of the cliff. They saw a figure diving from the top of the cliff, grabbing a balloon in mid-air, and landing in the water.

"Wow, that was so cool," Lindsay said. "Maybe we should see who it was."

"There's no time for that! We still need two more flags, and we're probably behind now!" Beth exclaimed, trying to sprint toward the cliff.

"Or…maybe we're tied for the lead, and we'd be rushing ourselves for nothing," Lindsay argued.

"You've seen the other five guys! They're way stronger than us. I'm not surprised if they all have two flags by now," Beth responded.

Lindsay opened her mouth to say something, but decided to stay silent. She followed Beth toward the mountain.

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Beth: I might have been a bit harsh toward Lindsay, but the truth is that we're not doing very well at these challenges. Somebody has to pull us toward victory, and if Lindsay can't do it, then it's up to me.

Lindsay: Maybe I should have actually done something myself instead of just following Beth. Then again, the last two times I tried that didn't exactly work out. *frowns*

* * *

"So…do you think we'll get ambushed in here?" Duncan asked as he walked through the bear cave alongside Heather.

"Duncan, there aren't any bears in here. I'm sure of it," Heather answered.

"So how are you going to fight them?"

"I told you, we won't get attacked."

"I got it! You're going to insult them until they run away crying. That's how."

"For the last freakin' time, there are no bears!"

"Be careful now. That shouting could attract bears…and maybe even lions and tigers, too. Oh my," Duncan joked. Heather's face turned red out of anger, but she decided against insulting him.

"Just how long have we been walking anyway?" she asked.

"I dunno, this cave is a lot deeper than I thought it would be," Duncan said, looking around for the marked area.

"For all I know, Chris could have painted the markers so that they blended in with the cave walls, just to screw with us."

"Nah, he wouldn't go through all that trouble. Wait, I think I see it!"

Duncan pointed to an area of the cave that had red and green flags hanging around it. Heather sprinted toward the marked site, shovel in hand, and started furiously digging for the box. Duncan found his own section and started digging too. Duncan's strength allowed him to dig faster than Heather, but to his surprise, Heather found the box first.

"Got it!" she shouted, holding small tin box over her head.

"This is bullcrap! Look at how much I dug!" Duncan complained as he pointed to his hole, which was about a foot deep.

"They're not that deep down," Heather said as she pulled out a flag. "Fine, I'll help you out. It's the least I could do."

"I don't think anything will make up for scrubbing the communal restroom with a toothbrush," Duncan said with his eyes narrowed at the queen bee.

"Fine, then I'll take my services elsewhere."

"No! No! I was just kidding! Come on!" Duncan pleaded.

"You better have been."

Duncan found another area to dig in, but was barely starting when Heather emerged with another box.

"How in the hell did you find one so fast?" Duncan asked in bewilderment as he took the box.

"Apparently, Chris thought it would be a good idea to bury the boxes all in one area," Heather explained, sounding annoyed. "That may be his dumbest idea yet."

"Or maybe," Duncan wondered, "he did that on purpose because he knows that we'd think that the boxes would be buried several feet apart, and this was some complex strategy that could have left us digging for hours."

Duncan and Heather paused to think about that idea for a moment before simultaneously shouting "NAH!"

Heather chuckled at Duncan's thought. "There's no way that Chris would put that much thought into making this challenge."

"You're right. What was I-"

Duncan froze upon hearing a low gurgling sound coming from deep inside the cave.

"That wasn't your stomach, was it?" Heather asked, starting to tremble in fear.

"No," Duncan answered while wide-eyed. He jumped a bit upon hearing the sound again. "Okay, that's not funny guys! How much did Chris pay you to scare the crap out of us!" he shouted while turning around. Unfortunately for him, he yelled right in the face of a bear. The bear stared him down with an intimidating look.

"Uh…nice bear…" Duncan nervously said while backing away. "Heather, quick! Tell him he's ugly!"

Duncan didn't get a response. He spun around to see that Heather was long gone, which left him to face the bear one-on-one.

"Should've listened to the damn sign," Duncan mumbled as he stared the bear down. The bear growled at him and took a few steps forward…

* * *

"Stupid Chris, he never tells me what the hell is going on," a cameraman complained as he walked up the 1,000-foot-mountain carrying a sign. When he got to the top of the mountain, he found another sign resting there. He pulled out the old sign and replaced it with the one he was carrying.

"Hurry up Lindsay, we're running out of time!"

Upon hearing Beth's voice, the cameraman threw the old sign over the cliff and rushed toward the camera mounted near the cliff's edge. Beth dashed toward the top of the mountain with her close friend following not-so-close behind.

"When did…Beth…learn to…run so…fast…" Lindsay wondered while panting. She was still at the base of the mountain as Beth reached the top.

"I wish these stations didn't have to be so far apart," Beth said, trying to catch her breath. She spotted the sign nearby and walked up to read it.

_The Airborne Challenge-Jump off the cliff and grab a balloon on the way down. Some of the balloons contain a flag, while others are empty. Make sure to land inside the safety zone, or else…well, I won't be responsible for what happens. You must grab a balloon using your teeth, or it will not count._

"I figured that's what you're supposed to do." Beth started walking toward the edge of the cliff, but stopped and ran back toward the sign. She read the instructions over and over again, particularly the last part.

"What's wrong?" Lindsay asked, just getting to the top of the mountain.

"The sign says we're only allowed to use our teeth, but…that other person didn't have to," Beth wondered.

"Won't that pop the balloon?"

"I'm guessing we have to grab it by the string, then."

"But that's impossible!" Lindsay complained.

"Chris wouldn't give us a challenge that's impossible…or would he?" Beth wondered. She peered over the edge of the cliff and saw that the balloons weren't floating directly above the safety point, which makes the jump more difficult. She also saw that the safety zone was surrounded by numerous buoys with spikes on top of them. "Yep…he would."

"Oh…that could really hurt," Lindsay said as she winced.

"Well…wish me luck," Beth gulped as she took a running start. "Geronimo!"

Beth took a small jump as she practically sprinted off the cliff. She made sure that she could still fall forward after grabbing a balloon to avoid the spikes waiting below. Beth attempted to chomp at the nearest balloon, but the string ended up slipping out of her teeth. Luckily, she managed to land in the middle of the safety zone, but was disappointed with the failure of getting a flag.

"Man, I never thought I'd be this disappointed to come up empty-mouthed," Beth said as she rubbed the front of her teeth, where her braces had once been.

"Help me!" Lindsay screamed as she hit the water. She didn't get as much distance on the jump as Beth, just barely avoiding a spike as she grazed one of the buoys upon landing.

"Oh my god! Tell me you're not hurt, Linds!" Beth shouted in concern. Lindsay resurfaced virtually unharmed, much to her friend's delight.

"I can't believe this dumb old thing nearly hit me," Lindsay complained while rubbing the buoy.

"I'm just glad you're all right," Beth said, hugging her blonde comrade.

Lindsay was about to say something back when she suddenly started coughing. In between coughs, she spit up an orange object.

"Lindsay…is that the flag?" Beth asked. She reached over to pick up the flag, but suddenly stopped after realizing where it had just been.

"Now I can't believe I nearly ate that thing," Lindsay said, looking disgusted. The two of them quickly paddled back to shore, with Lindsay still wondering how she ended up with the flag in the first place.

Upon reaching land, Beth pointed toward the woods. "There's no time for me to go around and get my own flag, but we can get your third flag and help you win."

"You'd sacrifice your chance at invincibility for me?" Lindsay asked, looking touched.

Beth smiled. "It's too late for me to win now. I don't want to hold you back."

* * *

Duncan found himself with his back against the cave wall, with the bear within striking distance of him. "Oh man. I'm gonna die if I don't…wait, I've got a shovel!" Duncan mentally kicked himself for not realizing he was holding a weapon the entire time. He swung the shovel at the bear, but it ducked its head in time. The bear swiped at the shovel and knocked it out of Duncan's hands, causing it to fly several feet away from the two of them.

A disarmed Duncan looked at his hands, then towards the exit. "Uh…that was meant to be diversion. See ya!"

Unfortunately, Duncan wasn't fast enough. The bear grabbed one of his legs and pulled him to the ground. Duncan's arms were pinned as the bear bared its fangs (no pun intended) and drooled all over Duncan's shirt.

"This is going to hurt, isn't it," Duncan winced as the bear reared its head back, ready for the killing blow.

"Hold on one second!"

Both Duncan and the bear turned to see Harold nearby, posing in one of his martial arts stances. The bear left the punk on the ground as he started to charge toward the brave nerd.

"Dude, I wouldn't tick off that bear if I were you," Duncan warned as he struggled to recover.

"You are no match for me, adversary!" Harold challenged as he gave a karate yell. When the bear was about to tackle him, Harold reacted out of instinct…and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Somehow, I kind of expected that," Duncan groaned as he face palmed. The bear shuffled toward Harold's unmoving body and smelled it.

"Ugh!" it growled in disgust as it plugged its nose. Unexpectedly, the bear stood up on two legs and walked away.

"Okay…" the criminal said as he scratched his head. Harold slowly got up off the ground once the bear was long gone.

"All a part of the plan," Harold boasted as he walked toward the digging area.

"Yeah right," Duncan scoffed. "You probably fainted on your own and got lucky there."

Harold began to dig in the hole that Heather started. "That's not true! I totally intended to do all of…hey!" He was interrupted when he stumbled upon one of the flag boxes. "That was fast!"

"Yeah, but there's no time to question all of that," Duncan responded. "What now?"

"We should head back to the fire challenge," Harold answered. He started to walk toward the exit until he heard Duncan chuckling behind him. "What's so funny?"

It took Duncan a while to stop laughing before answering. "So how are you gonna feel when thousands of people see you faint on television?"

"I told you, I didn't faint! I pretended to lose consciousness so that he'd leave me alone!" Harold retorted.

"Right…didn't you say that you were a Possum Scout? Those are the animals that pretend to die, right?"

"Duncan, you're thinking of _opossums_."

"What the flippin' heck is the difference?"

"Well there's a huge difference actually. For one thing, opossums are common in the western hemisphere, while possums originate from around Australia-"

"Okay! I get it! Sheesh, there's no need to bore me to sleep," Duncan spat. "Wait. Western hemisphere? That's right here, isn't it? Dang it Harold!"

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Duncan: Stupid Heather. Of course she'd leave me to die at the hands of some stupid animal. *grins* On the bright side, I did see Harold humiliate himself. That's always nice.

Bear: *reaches for toilet paper, only to find that there's none left* Aww. *spins teepee roll, then stares at the camera*  
Harold: *opens door and sees bear* Ahhhhhhhhhhh! *faints*  
Bear: *nervously waves at camera*

* * *

"It looks like the action is really starting to heat up now," Chris said, currently watching a monitor that showed Duncan and Harold running out of the bear cave. He turned to Karl. "Hey dude, give me a status report."

"Can't you just look at the monitors yourself?" Karl asked.

"Status report!" Chris demanded.

"Okay, okay! Justin is still trying to create a fire. He's stuck in dead last with zero flags. Lindsay and Beth are headed for his direction. Lindsay's got two flags, while Beth's got one and has practically given up already. Harold and Duncan, each with one flag, are converging on their position too. Should be an interesting confrontation," Karl explained.

"I bet you ten bucks there will be a fist fight," Chris challenged.

"Uh…I'll pass on that. Anyway, Heather made it all the way to the water challenge. She's…currently fighting a giant octopus," Karl said, looking at the monitor. The screen showed Heather trying to fight off two giant tentacles attempting to grab her arms. "Those underwater cameras suck. The quality is atrocious and…oh jeez. The octopus just sprayed ink and now I can't see squat."

"Hah! I was hoping Heather would get the octopus. That's something the viewers would enjoy."

"Wait, why did you want Heather to fight that thing?"

"I have my reasons."

"…oh god! Don't tell me it's because-"

"Yep! There's a good chance the octopus will end up eating her! Hey, what's with that disgusted look on your face? What the heck were _you _thinking?"

"Um…it's nothing."

"Look, I know you guys have your sick fantasies and all, but-"

"That's not what I was thinking, dammit!" Karl shouted in defense. "Anyway, she's got one flag. Should be two soon if everything goes well. As for Courtney…where the hell is she?"

Chris sat back as he watched Karl frantically search the monitors for the lost CIT, but found nothing. "I'd suggest that you stop wasting your time, bro. How's about I turn your attention toward the show unfolding in the second row, third monitor from the left."

"Just as I thought," Karl said as he watched Duncan, Harold, Beth, and Lindsay arrive at the fire challenge at the same time.

* * *

"No hands!" Beth shrieked as she read the _Trial by Fire_ sign. "This is even worse than the last task!"

"Move over, runt," Duncan grunted as he nudged Beth aside. His face fell after taking a quick glance at the instructions. "Oh crap. Now we're in trouble."

"Why are you guys hanging around near that sign?" Harold asked as he walked toward his stick tower, or at least what remained of it. The entire tower had burned to ashes, and the orange flag was sitting in the middle.

"Hey Harold, why are you trying to pick it up with your hands?" Justin asked. "That's illegal."

"Illegal? Says who?" Harold questioned.

"That sign," Justin answered, pointed toward where Beth and Duncan were standing.

Harold took a quick look at the sign before turning back toward Justin with a puzzled look on his face. "I don't remember that last sentence being there!"

"Maybe you missed it. I dunno," Justin said, continuing his attempt to start a fire.

"I know what I read. The no-hands rule was added after I left. What the heck is Chris thinking? He can't just change the rules like this!"

"Whoa, Harold!" Duncan shouted, trying to calm the nerd down. "No offense, but you don't exactly have the best eyesight here."

"Yeah, it's okay Harold," Beth added. "There's no shame in an occasional mistake."

"I could look into this matter, but there's simply no time," Harold said. He quickly took off his shoes and grabbed the flag using his toes.

"There's gotta be some way around this," Duncan muttered as he watched Harold run off.

"Hey! I think I've got it!" Lindsay shouted. She held the flint using her left toes and the knife with her right toes. She pulled her right leg back in an attempt to strike the flint with a slingshot motion.

"Lindsay, don't!" Beth screamed. "That's dangerous!"

"It is?" Lindsay asked as she released her right leg. The knife flung forward and somehow managed to hit the flint without cutting any of Lindsay's toes.

"Great, more dumb luck for the dumb blonde," Duncan grumbled as he watched Lindsay successfully start a fire.

"Maybe you should work on your skills in the outdoors," Justin suggested.

"You're one to talk. What have you been doing for the past hour?" Duncan asked.

"Point taken."

"That's it. It's loophole time." The punk dropped his lighter out of his pocket and picked it up between his toes.

"Duncan! That's cheating!" Beth protested.

"Do the rules say that I _have _to use the materials provided?" Duncan pointed out. "I got away with it before, and I can do it again. Man, you think Chris would've gotten around to fixing that rulebook."

Lindsay was about to walk over toward the gasoline buckets before being stopped by Justin. "Whoa there! Don't you know what will happen when you pour that gas?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna get my third flag and win," Lindsay answered.

"Wait. Third flag? Crap!" Duncan said as he overheard the conversation. In a panic, he started to fumble the lighter between his toes before finally managing to get his fire started.

"Hold on, Lindsay. Don't you know that gasoline will make that small fire blow up? That would result in some nasty third-degree burns, and I don't want that pretty face of yours to get charred," Justin said with a smooth tone in his voice.

"Oh, you're right! What was I thinking?" Lindsay giggled as she blushed.

Beth put her arm around the male model. "Aww, you're so considerate, taking Lindsay's safety into account."

"Justin! Have you forgotten the rules to our alliance!" Duncan shouted as he stormed over to the model.

"You guys have an alliance?" Beth asked.

"Hey, I was just trying to stall for time. I may as well help you out as long as I'm out of the challenge," Justin whispered to Duncan.

"Could you do so in a way that makes you seem less like a…I don't know…a traitor, maybe?" asked an irritated Duncan.

Beth ran over to Lindsay's position. "Hey Linds, did you hear that? The boys have…what are you doing?"

Lindsay was sitting by her fire, roasting a marshmallow. The nearby cameraman was sitting next to her while roasting six more, holding three in each hand.

"Hey, don't mind me," the cameraman said. "This fire will take forever to burn through the wood, so I decided to pass the time. There's this whole surplus of marshmallows left over from season one, and I didn't want it to go to waste, so-"

"Dude, get your butt back off-screen!" Duncan yelled, although his shouts were slightly muffled, as he was carrying a bucket of gasoline using his teeth.

The now-disgruntled cameraman snatched Lindsay's marshmallow and walked out of the camera's view. "Now what am I supposed to do with…where did the marshmallows go!" he shrieked, dropping the sticks he was holding. "There were like a hundred bags here! How did they disappear?"

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Bear: *holds up marshmallow bag and winks at camera* Mmmmmm… *tears open bag and starts eating*

* * *

After dragging the gasoline bucket over to his fire, Duncan started to kick away the twigs that circled the stick tower. Justin gave him a funny look, which prompted Duncan to explain his actions.

"The rules say that these twigs can't burn, so I'm making sure that they won't."

"I'm pretty sure that moving the twigs is also against the rules," Beth said.

"Okay, fine. Do you wanna show me the exact statement on that sign that says I can't do this?" Duncan asked.

Beth sighed. "No."

"Thank goodness there's a bright side to these dumb rules," Duncan mumbled as he kicked the last of the twigs away. He then proceeded to kick over the gasoline bucket, allowing most of the flammable liquid to splash onto his fire. In the split second that he had, he quickly spun around and leaped away from the fire.

"Oh jeez, I hope Duncan doesn't overdo it," Justin said with much concern. His fears would be realized as he watched Duncan's small fire erupt into a huge inferno. A massive fireball shot into the sky, narrowly avoiding the treetops that surrounded the clearing. It wasn't the biggest explosion in the show's history, but it still intimidated the bystanders.

"Holy cow, Duncan! You could have killed us!" Justin exclaimed while huddling near Beth.

"I haven't seen a blast this big since the time that my boyfriend showed me his homemade fireworks," Beth said. "By the way, did you know that he's an expert pyrotechnician?"

"Look, I know this guys sounds like he's real special to you, but I don't think that-"

"Finally!" Duncan shouted as he picked up his second flag with his toes. "Ow! Hot! Hot! Hot! That'll hurt for a while! Yowch!"

"Lindsay, hurry up!" Beth yelled. "Duncan's about to leave!"

Lindsay stared at her fire with almost intense concentration, although progress was still slow. She slowly nodded her head as a response.

"Man, that must take some real discipline," Justin remarked. "Do you think she practices by watching paint dry?"

Beth sighed, thinking that Duncan was on the verge of winning invincibility while her best friend would remain stuck on this task for at least another ten minutes.

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Duncan: *rubs his burnt toes* Hah, that's an instant classic right there.

Justin: In retrospect, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to align with a guy who's been to juvie. What the heck was he thinking?

Lindsay: There was an explosion? How come I don't remember seeing one?

Chris: *holds up rulebook* Maybe I should think about fixing all of the flaws in this thing. Then again, we wouldn't have seen that AWESOME explosion. So just for that, I'm leaving things the way they are.

* * *

"…and Duncan has taken flag number two…and he's leaving the area…okay seriously, how long do I have to give this running commentary for?" asked a tired Karl.

"Until we have a winner," Chris answered.

"Well, at least Lindsay has nearly gotten her third flag. Meanwhile, Heather appears to be running toward the cliff. Harold might be heading there too, but it's too soon to say. Now if I could just figure out where Courtney is-"

"Uh, never mind her," Chris interrupted. "Anyway, since we have some time to pass, why don't you…uh, what is it you kids do these days? Oh yeah! Tell me about yourself!"

"Okay then…well, I was born in Germany…" Karl started.

"So you're a Nazi?" Chris asked.

"No, I'm not a freakin' Nazi!" Karl retaliated, feeling offended. "I hate those guys! I'll have you know I have a ton of Jewish friends."

"So where do you live now?"

"Near Winnipeg. I've been living there for almost my entire life."

"Hmmm…funny you should mention that." Chris pulled out a newspaper clipping out of his back pocket. "Maybe you might know about this huge fan riot that broke out the night that episode 5 of this season first aired. It happened right around where you live."

Karl was starting to sweat out of nervousness. "Uh…I think I was on vacation at the time. I had no idea about that."

"Did you really have no idea?" Chris asked, his grin starting to widen.

"Um…look! Lindsay's got the third flag and is heading this way!" Karl shouted as he pointed at one of the TV screens.

"You're a lucky one, but I'll come back to this subject when I get the chance. Let's move," Chris said as he left the tent.

"Well, I'm boned if I stick around here…" Karl muttered. He looked toward another screen and saw both Heather and Harold at the 1,000 foot cliff.

* * *

"Not this crap again," Heather complained after reading the _Airborne Challenge _sign.

"Hey Heather," Harold greeted as he reached the top of the cliff.

"Oh great. What do you want, creep?"

"Nothing. Except the third flag, of course."

"Yeah, that's only if you're capable of reaching it," Heather said as Harold was reading the rules to the challenge.

"Hah! This is no problem for my mad skills," Harold scoffed. "But…ladies first."

"Seriously? You're risking a loss in this challenge just to act chivalrous?" Heather asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I would gladly do that for you, m'lady," Harold answered with a courteous bow.

"Okay, seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm just trying to be polite! Gosh!"

"You're acting a bit too suspicious for my tastes."

Harold sighed. "I figured that I should change my attitude toward everyone to gain respect. Last season, I tried to be the 'cool guy'. Sure I got Leshawna to like me, but I got ridiculed by everyone else. Therefore, I now strive to act more like a gentleman. I'd say it's working out just fine. I don't really have any enemies…except for Duncan and Courtney, but that's for a completely different reason."

Heather paused for a moment. "…go."

"What?"

"I'm letting you go first. Just go…before I change my mind."

Harold took a good look at the bottom of the cliff before taking the leap. Flying through the middle of the cluster of balloons, he managed to successfully clamp his teeth around one of the strings. Harold ended up landing just a few feet within the boundary of the safety zone.

"Victory at last!" Harold shouted in triumph. He quickly popped the balloon…and found nothing inside of it. "Oh, you cannot be serious!"

While Harold was rushing up the cliff again, Heather landed near the middle of the safety zone with her own balloon.

"Surely I've gotten one…" Heather muttered under her breath. She popped her balloon…and found flag number three inside. "Thank goodness."

Harold saw Heather running away from the cliff. "Oh…that's not good." Without much deliberation, he ran straight off the cliff and through the balloons at blazing speed…

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Harold: *bangs head against wall* I have no luck at all!

Heather: Stupid Harold and that stupid sob story. I can't believe that I actually felt sorry for him! There's no way I'll be able to win if I start feeling…guilty toward those dorks!

* * *

After watching the cliff scene unfold from the monitor tent, Karl ran over to the finish line, noticing that Chris was speaking frantically into his cell phone.

"Yeah, I know you're justified in doing this, but…come on! It doesn't have to come down to this…no, I can't afford to lose that much! Fine, I'll do it, you cheap son of a-"

"Is something the matter?" Karl asked.

Chris immediately hung up. "No, everything's just fine! There's nothing in particular that you need to worry about…"

Chris glanced at his watch. "C'mon…it's almost sunset, and we still have to do the Gilded Chris Ceremony," he said, getting impatient.

"Lindsay should be getting here any second…unless if she got lost or something," Karl said.

"I wouldn't mind if something like that happened."

"Why? Did you bet on someone else to win this challenge?"

"Hey! I didn't make any bets…today. Maybe for the next challenge I will."

"Please don't…oh, there's Lindsay!" Karl shouted, pointing to the edge of the forest.

"Drat…" Chris cursed under his breath as Lindsay crossed the finish line with her three flags in hand.

"Yay! I won!" Lindsay exclaimed as she ran over to hug the nearest person…which happened to be Karl. "I did it Tyler!"

"You never learn, do you?" said an annoyed Karl, with Chris chuckling at his misfortune. Justin and Beth emerged from the forest and joined the three. "No luck for you guys?" Karl asked.

"No, although we did help our teammates," Beth said while smiling.

"Whoa, hold on! I didn't help anybody!" Justin countered.

"Oh, Justin, I know all about your Guy's Alliance."

"What alliance? There is no alliance! You're just making this up!"

Chris started to laugh even harder. "And so the plot thickens…and this challenge is coming to an end," he said, looking toward the distance. Heather was sprinting toward the finish line, with Harold about 30 yards behind her. Heather crossed the finish line second, and Harold finished a close third. "I can't believe someone with virtually no muscle at all nearly caught up to me," an exhausted Heather said as she handed her three flags over to Chris.

"At least you've won invincibility," Chris remarked. A few groans could be heard in the background. "Too bad for you Harold. It looks like you failed to get the necessary three flags."

"Actually, yes I did," the nerd said as he pulled three flags out of his shirt.

"Great, now my job just got a bit more complicated," Chris said in dismay.

"How so?"

"I'll explain in a bit. First of all, we're still missing two people…"

"McClean! I'll have your head for this!"

"…make that one person." Chris winced as he turned to face Duncan. Not only was he soaking wet, but his shirt had a few tears in it. "I'm guessing you were fighting off water creatures just a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, and I ended up wrestling with that stupid alligator again!" Duncan shouted. "I couldn't even get that last flag."

"Not like it matters, because you're too late anyway," Chris said. "Anyway, I guess now's a good time to announce the winners."

"It's Lindsay and Heather, right?" Beth asked.

"Not…exactly," Chris said. "Heather wins invincibility for finishing second, that much is clear. While Lindsay finished first, she attained her second flag through illegal methods."

"You're lying!" Beth shouted in retaliation.

"Come to think of it, I still don't know how I even got that flag," Lindsay said.

"Well thanks to the magic of instant replay, now you can," Chris said as an intern wheeled in a television monitor. "I was really hoping I wouldn't have to use this, but I've got no choice." Chris pulled out a remote and turned the TV on. The video started right at the moment Lindsay leapt off the cliff.

"Nothing wrong so far," Chris commented, "but let's see what happens when I slow things down a bit." Chris hit a button, which made the video go into slow-motion. The rest of the competitors saw Lindsay fall through the balloons while screaming. Remarkably, Lindsay popped one of the balloons on the way down, and the flag inside flew into her open mouth.

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Justin: Wow…didn't see that one coming.

Harold: Why can't I have mid-air flag catching skills like her? This calls for some intense training…

Duncan: And she gets lucky AGAIN! What the hell is this?

Beth: I never knew Lindsay was so good at these challenges.

Heather: God, that cheap little…that has to be cheating!

* * *

"So…how is that illegal?" Beth asked.

"As flimsy as our rules may be, this time you're not so lucky," Chris started. "The sign specifically stated that you must grab a balloon on the way down, and according to the replay, she clearly didn't do that."

"Does this mean I lose?" Lindsay asked with a frown.

"I'm afraid so. It also means that third-place Harold wins invincibility by default."

"Yes!" Harold shouted as he leaped into the air. "Oh…I'm really sorry about this, Lindsay."

"That has to be the most despicable thing I've ever seen," Karl said, angered by the turn of events.

"What are you going to do about it?" Chris asked.

"Nothing," Karl mumbled.

"Now we're left with just one issue: Courtney. This is where things will get even messier," Chris warned.

"So have you told them the news yet?"

Everyone turned around to see Courtney arrive at the scene, alongside an intern wearing a wetsuit, goggles, and a diving cylinder.

"Well it's about time you showed up!" Chris shouted.

"So did you tell them how you completely screwed up this challenge?" Courtney asked.

"I didn't screw up, it's all that guy's fault!" Chris yelled as he pointed to the intern.

"Can you just explain what the heck is going on?" Heather asked.

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, here's the deal. Courtney was at the water challenge trying to get her second flag. The rules stated that if you couldn't handle whatever animal you were fighting, you could signal the scuba diver to save you. Now, Courtney was fighting a shark and needed help. The intern here was supposed to use his harpoon gun to kill the dang thing, but it got jammed, which put Courtney's life into serious danger…"

"Oh, _now_ you're going to pay!" Duncan seethed as he tried to lunge for Chris, only to be held back by Justin.

"It's not worth it dude! You could get thrown out of the show!" Justin warned.

"Can you let me finish here?" Chris asked. "Due to the turn of events, Courtney threatened to sue me if I didn't give her invincibility, so I've pretty much got my hands tied here."

"That's the biggest crap I've ever seen on this show!" Heather complained. "And I was handcuffed to Owen for a day, so that's saying something."

"That invincibility was not earned through skill! You can't do this!" Harold protested.

"Hey Chris, didn't you say there would only be two winners today?" Beth asked. "You know, since it's Tuesday."

"Exactly. Today is Tuesday, which is the third day of the week. Therefore, there must be three winners," Chris responded.

"I'm so confused now," the farm girl said as she scratched her head.

"That's just unfair!" Karl added. "You're crossing the line here!"

"Stay out of this, lackey!" Chris commanded.

"Yes sir," Karl reluctantly complied.

"Hey, if you were on the verge of getting killed, you'd ask for compensation too," Courtney said, defending her own actions.

"Where is the rulebook? We need to find that thing and burn it!" Heather said, continuing her tirade.

"Speaking of burning, there's something else I'm curious about," Harold started. "Why did the rules for the fire challenge change while-"

"Whoa! Would you look at the time?" Chris interrupted. "Well, since there's practically no time to drive back to the film lot and hold the Gilded Chris Ceremony, we'll have to vote someone off right here!" The usual chorus of groans rang out in response to the announcement.

"And another thing!" Chris added. "For the first time ever, I'm calling for a snap vote. That means that you're all going to vote right away without having time to confer with any of your alliance mates."

"Darn it!" Justin complained. "Er, I mean, I'm not in an alliance!"

"Dude, you really suck at this," Duncan whispered.

"All votes will be taken in the bus cam," Chris explained. "And don't worry, we won't reveal the votes this time. I don't want any vendettas to be formed today."

"Uh, Chip? What if we don't know who to vote for?" Lindsay asked.

"That reminds me, Lindsay." Chris pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the blonde. "The producers demanded that I hand you this visual aid in case we ever went to using a confessional for votes. It has the _real_ names of all the remaining competitors and their pictures, so you can't get confused."

"So…who do I vote for?"

"I don't want to see any gaffes in the voting today, because that's just no fun. Remember: Heather, Harold, and Courtney are all invincible, so don't even think about trying to vote them out."

* * *

**Bus Cam**

Heather: Well, this is an obvious choice. The biggest threats here are Duncan, Harold, and that dirty cheater Courtney, and it just so happens that two of them are invincible. Too bad Duncan. I just hope the rest of the voters use some common sense.

Justin: Aw jeez, I hate it when I barely have any time to think. I'll vote for Beth, simply because she knows way too much. I hope Duncan doesn't kill me for dropping the ball on this one.

Beth: I'll have to vote for Duncan. I don't care how many technicalities you find in the rules. What you did today was immoral.

Duncan: I'm voting for Lindsay. That dumb bimbo is getting way too lucky here, even if she didn't win in the end. The longer she stays, the more likely that her luck will come back to haunt me.

Lindsay: *looks at visual aid* Hmm…well Courtney pretty much cheated, Duncan's being mean as usual, Harold is a pretty good competitor, Heather somehow keeps winning challenges, and I don't want to vote for Beth and Justin…this is too tough.

Harold: I'm sorry Lindsay, but considering how close you came to beating me in this challenge, I can't afford you to keep you around. I hope you teach me those mad diving skills one of these days.

Courtney: Let's see…Lindsay, Beth, Justin, and Duncan are the only choices here. I obviously have to vote off the strongest of the four. Then again...ugh! Stupid snap vote! Great, now I'm having second thoughts.

* * *

"Well, this surely feels like old times, huh?" Chris remarked as he held a tray of Gilded Chris trophies. He decided to hold the elimination ceremony at the campfire pit near the Dock of Shame, just like in season one.

"Last episode's vote was a nail biter, while is one was just confusing. You guys just never make things simple for me."

"Will you quit complaining? Most of this has been you own fault," Heather said.

"All previous annoyances aside…there are seven of you, and only six marshmallows…er, I mean, Gilded Chris awards," Chris corrected.

"Way to get crossed up," Courtney taunted. "Shouldn't you have rehearsed at least?"

"Hey, those are the disadvantages of holding a snap vote!" Chris retaliated.

"Why aren't we using marshmallows anyway?" Beth asked.

"Because our entire stock got stolen," Chris answered. "Besides, I stored these babies in the bus in case the Gilded Chris ceremony went mobile. It wasn't the best idea, actually. The chocolate kinda melted after being exposed to the sun too long," he said as he wiped his hands off the back of his pants.

"Aw man! I liked how they tasted," Harold complained.

"Anyways, whoever doesn't get a Gilded Chris must immediately walk down the Dock of Shame, catch the Boat of Losers, and…get off the Boat of Losers, go down the Walk of Shame, get into the Lame-o-sine…okay, now I'm confused."

"That figures," Courtney mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, enough of this!" Chris shouted. "Once you leave, you can never come back. EVER! The first three awards go to the invincibility winners: Heather, Harold, and Courtney." Heather and Courtney didn't bother catching their trophies, but Harold still tried to eat the chocolate inside his.

"Next is the person who received no votes…Justin."

"Sweet," the model said as he let the Gilded Chris fly past him.

"I see that melted chocolate isn't popular among you guys. Man, you must have some weird tastes. Now, the next Gilded Chris goes to…Beth."

"Yes!" Beth celebrated as she caught the trophy, only to drop it to the ground in disgust.

"Now it's just down to you two," Chris said as he looked at Lindsay and Duncan.

"Lindsay, you should know better than to break the rules…especially when it's pretty difficult to break them in the first place." Lindsay hung her head in shame.

"Duncan, you're in this position yet again. I don't think that your game plan right now is really working out." Duncan clenched his fists in anger.

"One of you will be going home right now. The final Gilded Chris goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…Duncan."

Duncan caught the Gilded Chris, although his grip was so tight that the chocolate started to ooze out of the wrapping.

"Dang it Lindsay! What did I say about not screwing up the voting?" Chris asked in annoyance.

"I didn't know I messed up," Lindsay responded.

"This doesn't surprise me one bit," Courtney commented.

"Shut it. You messed up as well," Chris said.

"Wait. I didn't do anything!" Courtney shouted in defense.

"That's exactly what you did…in the voting booth. Neither of you made a clear-cut choice on who to vote for, so I had to invoke this obscure rule that I hoped I would never have to use," Chris explained.

"That's it Chris. You're gonna let us see that rulebook right now!" Heather demanded. "That thing is way too important for you to conceal."

"That's not going to happen. You'll just demand that I change most of the rules we've got," Chris countered. "Now back to the matter at hand. There's a rule that states that in the case that we vote someone out using a confessional, if a voter does not make their choice for elimination clear, then we just take the first name that they mention and use that as their vote."

"Couldn't you just tell us to revote or something? This is just ridiculous!" Courtney protested.

"Hey, it's your own fault for not being able to decide in the first place," Chris argued. "Under this rule, Courtney voted for Lindsay. That meant that Lindsay needed to mention Duncan's name to save herself."

"I think I did say his name…" Lindsay said as she tried to remember her vote.

"Yes you did, right after you said Courtney's name. Since she's invincible, that means your vote gets tossed out."

"So I don't get a vote? That's not fair!" Lindsay whined.

"Sorry, them's the rules," Chris said. "Now it's time for you leave."

"That's does it, Chris!" Karl yelled. "I've just about had it with-"

"Sit down!" Chris ordered.

"God damn…" Karl muttered.

"Lindsay doesn't deserve to leave! Take me instead!" Beth pleaded.

"Sorry, but Lindsay has already been voted out, and you can't substitute with someone who's been eliminated," Chris said. "You can still quit if you want, but either way, Lindsay is leaving."

"Beth, please stay," Lindsay said. "It's not fair if you have to leave too."

"This whole episode has been unfair," Beth sulked.

"That can't be helped," Chris said. "Or maybe it can, but I'm not going to do anything about it. All right, it's getting really late now. Let's get back on the bus! Come on! Move it!"

Beth gave her best friend one last hug before joining everyone else. Lindsay took the slow, long walk down the Dock of Shame and boarded the Boat of Losers.

* * *

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You said that I've got to do something else before you'll let me leave."

"So?"

"I've been standing here for hours, waiting for you to say something."

"That's a part of my strategy. I gotta get inside the enemy's head before I go in for the kill…"

"WHAT!"

"Oh, sorry. I meant that figuratively."

Chef stared down his prisoner as he started to sweat out of nervousness. "Your task is a simple one. All you gotta do is answer three questions, and I'll let you go unharmed."

"So, what happens if I get one wrong?" the boy asked.

"Not important," Chef dismissed. "All right, first question. What…is your name?"

Just as the boy was about to give an answer, Chef interrupted him. "Hold on a second! It has to be your real name. Not the fake one that you've got on your passport."

"You weren't fooled, huh? Fine. My name's Samuel Robertson. You can call me Sam."

"Hmm…I gotta remember that name." Chef said. "Okay, now for the second question. What…is your quest?"

"Uh…I'm just some fan who snuck onto the set for the heck of it. There's not much else to it," Sam answered.

"You sneak in a bit too often…are you sure you ain't affiliated with nobody?"

"Hey, no follow up questions!" Sam protested. "Can you just ask the third question already?"

"If you say so," Chef said. "What is-"

"The airspeed velocity of an unladen _European_ swallow is approximately 10 meters per second, due to the fact that swallows beat their wings about 15 times per second and travel at 0.22 meters per beat. Now, if you want to talk about an African swallow-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Chef shouted. "Man, I didn't think you'd get that one right. All right, then. You're free to go." As soon as Chef said that, Sam immediately sprinted toward the exit of the craft services tent.

"Freedom!" Sam shouted in glee. Unfortunately, he'd have to wait for freedom, as he slipped on a piece of paper and landed on the ground with a thud.

"Ow…that's going to hurt in the morning…hey, what's this?" Sam picked up the paper tripped him up. "Is this a telegram? Hah! Who the heck uses this stuff anymore?" He took a quick look at its contents before slipping it into his pocket with a huge grin on his face. "Hehe…jackpot, baby!"

* * *

"Man, that was a long day," Karl said as the bus pulled into the film lot.

"Yeah, an episode like that can really take the energy out of a guy," Chris concurred. "Well, I expect you to be around for the filming of the next episode."

"What do you need me around for? There wasn't much for me to do other than drive this dumb bus."

"Sure, but my supply of interns is running dangerously low. You look like you're capable of doing…whatever the heck interns usually do."

"Uh…I'll have to think about it. Now what do you want me to do with these guys?" Karl asked as he pointed to the six remaining contestants. All of them were fast asleep in their respective seats.

"Well if they want to sleep in here, then we'll let them," Chris answered.

"Are we seriously just going to leave them in here?"

"Don't worry, this film lot is under tight security. Nothing's going to happen to these guys."

"Doesn't your security consist entirely of one person? Chef Hatchet?"

"Yeah, but…wait, how did you know that?" Chris asked with a suspicious look.

"Oh gee, it's getting real late here. I'd better get going," Karl said as he rushed out of the bus and toward the film lot exit.

"Well that was just weird," Chris said before turning to the camera. "Today's thrilling episode has left us with a few questions. Should my incredibly brilliant rulebook for this show be rewritten? How many fans are going to get ticked off after seeing this episode? Have I just become acquainted with an actual Nazi?"

"What the hell, Chris!" Karl shouted from off-screen.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be gone? Anyways, be sure to tune in as I completely forget to answer those questions next time on Total…Drama…Action!"

* * *

Votes

**Beth: ** Duncan

**Courtney: **Lindsay

**Duncan: **Lindsay

**Harold: **Lindsay

**Heather: **Duncan

**Justin: **Beth

**Lindsay: **Courtney (does not count)

Vote Count

**Lindsay: **3  
**Duncan: **2  
**Beth: **1

Eliminated: Geoff, Bridgette, Trent, Gwen, DJ, Izzy, Owen, Leshawna, Lindsay

Remaining: Beth, Courtney, Duncan, Harold, Heather, Justin

* * *

And so Lindsay is eliminated in an unfair fashion, just like the real show would have done. Yep, Lindsay is so good, only an obscure rule that nobody has heard of before could force her out of the game. She's one of my favorites too, but it had to be done.

**Next Time-**The competitors become archaeologists! Yeah, that'll be fun…right?


	7. E17,P1:Hehe, Booby Traps

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

* * *

Episode 4, Part 1: Hehe…Booby Traps

"Come on! Pick up the phone, dang it," a boy muttered as tried to make a call on his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Karl! How are you doing, man?"

"What the…Lenny? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Around 3 o'clock in the morning. Nothing unusual about that."

"Sure there isn't…so why are you calling so early?"

"Sorry dude, but this is to make sure that we don't get tapped."

"You mean they're using wire taps now?"

"Well…not that we know of. We can never be too careful though. The enemy knows how to adapt itself."

"That's nice. So how did your big investigation go?"

"It seems that our suspicions were correct. I did some snooping around the film lot while the cast was busy filming at Wawanakwa, and I'm definitely smelling a conspiracy."

"Wait, you were at the film lot? I was there on a rescue mission! That American kid really stinks at his job."

"You mean Sam? Yeah, he's not that good at recon. He did manage to escape though."

"I was even told to go stealthy on that mission. Dang it! I live for action, not hiding! I got caught by Chris too. I had to spend the whole damn day with him, filming what will go down as the weirdest episode ever."

"I'm getting the feeling that the FFB sent you to be a diversion."

"Why?"

"Let's think about it. Chris was busy keeping you in his sights, and Chef had his hands tied with Sam. That left me free to gather more information on this little crisis that's developing under our noses."

"So what'd you find out?"

"Our enemy is interfering with this game. Somebody is trying to influence the outcome from the outside, and they're acting through one of the contestants."

"Which contestant would want to seek help from those wack-jobs?"

"Our number-one suspect…Courtney."

"I knew that her re-entry onto the show was too strange to be true! We gotta get her eliminated somehow."

"Morally speaking, we can't. There's no way we're stooping down to their level."

"You mean we're just going to sit back and let those pricks have their way?"

"Listen, Chris still thinks you're just an intern, right?"

"Barely…"

"They're filming the next episode today, and we need a man on the inside. Go back to the film lot and gather as many details as you can. Maybe you could ask one of the contestants what's going on. They're bound to know more than we do."

"Ugh, when is this mess going to be over?"

"The show is down to the final six. We'll be reaching the climax soon, so these next few weeks are crucial. Got it Karl? Don't screw this one up."

"It's very assuring to know that there's no pressure on me. Whatever, I'll talk to you later, Lenny."

* * *

"Last time on Total Drama Action, the seven remaining castmates competed in the first individual invincibility challenge this season. What better way would there be to celebrate this occasion than to return to good ol' Camp Wawanakwa. It was quite a nostalgic episode, really. We revisited some of the most memorable locations of last season, including the bear cave, the Dock of Shame, and the freakin' huge cliff."

"By the challenge's end, tensions rose and tempers flared. Lindsay was the first to finish, but was disqualified for breaking the rules. Too bad. Heather and Harold ended up as the big winners…somehow. Oh yeah, Courtney was awarded invincibility too. I sure hope nobody will complain about her lack of screen time in the last episode. Aw, who cares about her? Don't worry, I made sure I had enough screen time for the both of us."

"There were more shenanigans to be found during the voting ceremony, and once again, I needed to consult the almighty rulebook for the solution. For the second season in a row, Lindsay exits the show in a controversial manner, which will definitely result in thousands of angry e-mails. Man, why does one of the most beloved contestants on this show have to be so flippin' dense? Oh well. There are six contenders left, and one of them will have all their hopes and dreams crushed tonight in the most dramatic Gilded Chris Ceremony ever, right here on Total…Drama…Action!"

"And…cut," the cameraman said.

"Nice, now go get that challenge set up," Chris ordered as the crew dispersed.

Chef walked up to the host. "Yo Chris, how do you want to handle all these fan intrusions that we're getting?"

"It's difficult to come up with a beefed-up security system without having to spend a lot of money," Chris answered as he scratched his head. "The season is winding down anyway. We'll just have to put up with it."

"I got you," Chef nodded. "I'll just have to be twice as alert from here on out."

"Just don't go abandoning me like yesterday," Chris said. "I don't want more fans sneaking in here…"

"Hey Chris, what's up?" Karl greeted as he joined the pair.

"Hey, it's the Na-I mean, that German-born kid!" Chris stuttered.

"German, huh? I remember my grandfather used to tell me stories about how he mowed down German soldiers back in his day," Chef reminisced as he scratched his chin. "So what's a dirty kraut doing here?"

"Great, more stereotypes," Karl muttered. "Well, I came down here to see if you guys needed any assistance, seeing as you're shorthanded and all…"

"Oh man, do I have an important job for you," Chris said as he rubbed his hands together.

"You're not gonna make me test a challenge, are you?" Karl asked.

"No, I already got a couple of guys to do that a few days ago," Chris answered. "Oddly enough, I haven't heard from them since. I'm sure they're all right, though."

Karl slowly began to walk away. "You know, maybe I came at a bad time…"

"Whoa! Don't go running on me, man!" Chris shouted. "It's not that difficult of a job. Now do you remember those two chumps that were eliminated in the second episode?"

"Geoff and Bridgette? Yeah, they clearly weren't focused enough to compete," Karl said.

"Well those idiots went and made their own talk show featuring all the eliminated contestants and those weaklings that couldn't even qualify for this season," Chris explained, clearly expressing anger. "It's catching on with viewers…AND I'm not even in any of their episodes! That's a freakin' crime, dude. I want you to find where they're shooting this dumb show and shut them down."

"If this show gets more popularity as a result, why would you want to get rid of it?" Karl asked.

"Did you not hear me? I'm not in any of the episodes!"

"…fine, I guess I've got nothing better to do."

"That's the spirit! Now leave already, we've got to start filming the next episode," Chris commanded.

"Man, why am I stuck with the crappy work?" Karl muttered as he left the studios.

"So…how's that lawsuit on Teletoon coming along?" Chris asked as he turned to Chef.

"It's bad news, bro. We're getting nowhere fast," Chef answered. "They said they hired this new lawyer straight out of graduate school. He's real smart, too. If we try anything funny, we're toast."

"Aw man, why don't we have that kind of power?"

"Because you're so dang cheap that you get a bunch of interns to dress up and pretend to be experts at this law business. Oh yeah, and you just so happen to pick the dumbest ones."

"Hey, it saves us both a bundle of cash, so who honestly cares?" Chris chuckled.

* * *

Heather sat in her bed and looked at her reflection in her hand mirror. She noticed that her hair was slowly starting to grow back, although it wasn't quite long enough to cover her bald head. Beth noticed Heather's actions from across the room.

"How's your hair doing?" Beth asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"It could take a few more weeks for it to return to an acceptable length," Heather answered.

"Look, Lindsay's really sorry about having your head shaved last season."

"Oh, I really don't blame her for this."

"Really? You're not mad at her?"

"Of course I am, but it's for a completely different reason. It was mere coincidence that I was the victim of Lindsay's dare."

"So you didn't vote her off for personal reasons?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't vote for her at all."

Beth sat up in her bed, suddenly wanting to learn more. "Then that means you must be trying to eliminate someone else."

"Yep. Don't worry. I haven't been targeting you lately," Heather said, turning to face Beth. "There are stronger competitors that I need to get rid of."

"Like Courtney?" Beth asked.

"She isn't close to my level, but her constant lawsuits against the show make her a threat," Heather explained as she walked toward the door. "As soon as I find an opening, she's done. I mean really, there's no way she can remain this lucky throughout the entire game-"

As Heather was about to step out, the door swung open and pinned her against the wall. Courtney casually walked into the trailer while holding her PDA, oblivious to Heather's predicament. "Man, I can't believe how poorly Chris is handling this season!"

"Oh, what now?" Heather asked as she slid out from behind the door. "Not getting enough 'compensation' for all the misfortunes that you've suffered?"

Courtney quickly stuffed her PDA into her pocket. "No, that's not it."

"Come on, Courtney. I think you should try competing this week on an even playing field," Beth said. "It's just to prove to the fans that you deserve to be here."

"Of course I deserve to be here," Courtney defended. "Let me tell you who should be gone by now…"

"Look, I know how much you want Harold eliminated," Heather interrupted. "Frankly, I want to take him out the first chance I get too, but I'm not messing around with the rules to do so."

"Will you be saying that when he finds some backhanded way to eliminate you?" Courtney asked.

"I'm not worried about getting eliminated. I _am_ worried about how this game is getting completely out of hand," Heather explained. "It's been this way ever since you showed up. I have my suspicions…"

"Well, you're just wrong!" Courtney retaliated. "I'm not the one making all these rule changes on the fly!"

"Do you wanna explain who _is_?"

"Chris, obviously! He has no idea how to host a reality show!"

"As much as I despise Chris, it's not like he's a rookie at this job. It's like he's being pressured by somebody else."

"Then why don't you go find out for yourself?"

"No way, it would just cause a distraction." Heather started walking towards the door. "Unlike you, I can handle the unexpected twists and turns in this game because I'm just the better player! Face it Courtney, you're too weak for this show."

Courtney was seething with rage as she watched Heather walk out and slam the door behind her.

"I'll show you weak! I guarantee that you'll be eliminated this week! You hear me? Guarantee!"

Courtney slumped into her bed as Beth let out a long sigh. "Good thing I wasn't in the middle of that," the farm girl muttered to herself.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Heather: I really want Courtney ousted as soon as possible, but then I've got the boys' alliance to worry about. Duncan probably wants me gone for bailing on him in the last challenge, but I feel that the longer that Courtney stays in this game, the riskier it becomes for me. Damn, this is getting difficult.

Courtney: Maybe guaranteeing Heather's elimination was a bad idea, considering it would mean that Harold stays another week. But dammit, I can't back down now. It's Heather or bust!

Beth: This week is going to be whole lot tougher since I've no longer got any allies, but I figure if I do my best, everything's gonna work out, right? *nervously chuckles*

Oh, who am I kidding? I pretty much need to become a strategic genius fast, or I'm done.

* * *

"Okay dudes," Duncan announced as he called another meeting of the Guy's Alliance. "I know we might not have been on the same page yesterday due to that goddamn snap vote, but now that there's an even number of guys and girls, the tables have turned in our favor."

"So as long as we vote for the same person, the worst we could do now is tie, right?" Justin asked.

"Exactly," Duncan answered. "The problem is that nobody knows what the tiebreaker is supposed to be, so rather than take our chances, let's make sure we split the girls' votes one more time."

"I think we should focus more on winning invincibility," Harold said. "Heather is skilled and determined enough to win any challenge, and Courtney is just plain unpredictable. As long as we control invincibility, we can take out anybody."

"All right then, all we have to do is make sure Heather doesn't win today, and we're golden," Duncan agreed.

"What about Courtney?" Harold asked.

"Oh, she's untouchable. No way are we voting her out," Duncan responded.

"What!" Harold exclaimed. "Come on, she'd take us out in a heartbeat if given the chance!"

"Us? No, she would take out you and Justin," Duncan said as he laid back in his bed.

"I thought the point of this alliance was to protect each other from being eliminated," Justin said. "Getting rid of Courtney would certainly do that."

"Yeah Duncan, you only seem to be looking out for yourself," Harold added.

"If I were only watching my own back, I would've voted Justin out instead of Lindsay yesterday," Duncan countered. "From my point of view, the only choices were Beth and Lindsay, and since Lindsay was obviously carrying some kind of good luck charm on her, we'd probably stand a better chance against Beth later on."

"I guess you're right," Harold conceded. "But still, I think Courtney is more dangerous than anyone else left in this game, and it would be better for us if-"

"Look, if Courtney eliminates herself, then there's nothing that can be done." Duncan interrupted. "But if I find out you were responsible for her elimination, I'm gonna kick your ass all the way to Mexico."

Harold gulped. "Well that's only a few thousand kilometers…"

"As much as I fail to understand your need to protect Courtney," Justin started, "I say we should go with Harold's plan and keep winning invincibility. We can just wing it from there."

"Fine by me," Duncan complied.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Duncan: From what I can make of this situation, I just have to make sure Heather doesn't win tonight. Then I can take the guys and Courtney to the final four. I've got no idea what I'll do then, but I'll worry about that later.

Harold: I'm kind of worried that Duncan is going to turn on me when he eventually runs out of people to vote out. I want to try to beat him to the punch, but it could end up backfiring. *sighs*

Justin: Considering that nobody considers me to be a threat, I think I'm safe for another week. Then again, if I get the opportunity to make a game-changing move, I might be tempted to take it. This deep into the game, standing pat will get me nowhere.

* * *

Chris instructed the final six to meet him in front of Studio 17, the site for the next challenge. The entrance to the studio was decorated with stone pillars and torches, and the front of the studio had Egyptian hieroglyphics painted on it.

"Welcome, explorers!" Chris announced. "Are you ready for today's epic invincibility challenge?"

Chris was met with glares from the six remaining castmates. "I'll take that as a yes," he said. "Today's genre is the adventure genre, which means that there's a good chance that somebody will get dismembered today. I'll be sure to thoroughly enjoy it when that happens."

"Whatever, Chris," Heather scoffed. "Let's just get this over with so I can get rid of one of these losers."

"That would be pretty difficult considering your sorry butt will be out of here tonight," Courtney retaliated.

"Whoa, I can smell some bad blood here," Chris said. "I love it! Keep it up, ladies. It's good for the ratings."

"Forget those dumb ratings," Duncan intervened as he stepped in front of Heather. "You try anything funny on Princess, there's no way I'll let you survive this week."

"That'll be a problem once I win invincibility," Heather countered.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about elimination," Duncan threatened. Unimpressed as usual, Heather simply rolled her eyes.

"Gosh guys, you're just wasting your energy for the challenge," Harold said.

"Doesn't that benefit us in the end?" Justin asked.

"I guess, but I would rather beat everyone at full strength, just to legitimize my accomplishments," Harold responded.

"If you say so."

Beth decided to join the two boys, partly because she wanted to distance herself from the conflict taking place. "I didn't think that the game would get this intense. I thought having fewer people around would mean less arguing."

"It kind of makes sense, though," Justin responded. "At this point, we're all supposed to be sick of each other."

"But I'm not sick of you two," Beth said.

"That's because we all respect each other," Harold explained. "We don't act like total jerks like those guys," the nerd added, jerking a thumb toward the arguing threesome.

"Really Duncan, this isn't necessary," Courtney said, trying to keep the criminal out of the argument.

"Somebody has to have your back," Duncan reassured. "It's not like anybody else around here wants to help you out."

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Heather sarcastically remarked. "Miss CIT continues to be aided by her delinquent lover. Can't do anything on her own-"

"You take that back!" Duncan yelled, looking like he's on the verge of tackling Heather.

"See, that's what I mean Duncan! I don't want a reputation of being overly dependent!" Courtney shouted. "I don't need your help, and I certainly don't _want_ it either!"

Crestfallen, Duncan backed off. "Why are you shouting at me when Heather's the one insulting you?"

"Because no one likes you," Heather answered. "You're just some lowlife criminal who acts tough but is really a total coward when going up against real opposition.

"Okay, now you're just spouting absolute crap!" Courtney screamed.

Chris was enjoying every minute of this confrontation. "Dude, did you get all of that?" he asked the cameraman, who nodded in response. "Nice!"

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Chris: See, this is why I love the late stages of the game. Sure, it's not quite as fun torturing six competitors as opposed to twenty-two, but man, they all just want to kill each other.

Duncan: I probably should have seen this coming with all the tension that's been building, but seriously, *bleep!* this show!

Heather: Considering how Courtney refused to accept Duncan's help, I think it's safe to say that she has no allies. She's practically a sitting duck now.

Harold: Well…I guess if Courtney is miffed at Heather now, maybe she's gotten over her lust for revenge against me…right?

Beth: I have to give Courtney credit, she's pretty tough. There's no way I would've handled Heather like that.

Justin: At first I thought that Courtney was the most hated person around here, but things might have just changed. This gives me an idea… *rubs hands together*

Courtney: Damn, why does that whiny little skank have to insult Duncan and me all the time…uh, I mean, I don't care about Duncan anyway, but it still wasn't cool. I swear, I'm gonna convince everyone to make sure Heather gets eliminated tonight. There's no escape now!

*starts to leave, but sits back down* Oh yeah, if Harold thinks he's off the hook, tell him he's next!

Harold: Aw come on! *buries face in hands*

* * *

"All right dudes!" Chris exclaimed. "As much as I want to see more, we have a challenge to get to!" The bystanders kept their distance from Courtney, Heather, and Duncan as Chris began explaining the challenge.

"The six of you will be split into three pairs and sent inside the temple that we set up within this studio. The object of this challenge is to survive the perils within the temple and reach the treasure that awaits you at the end. You'll have to pass through four chambers on the way over. Each chamber features an obstacle that will probably injure you if you don't navigate it properly." Chris' last statement prompted cringing from the six unfortunate teens.

"The first person to successfully make their way through the temple, grab the treasure, and make it back outside wins invincibility," Chris finished.

"Sounds simple enough…" Beth said.

"I wouldn't press your luck, there's probably some kind of weird twist involved," Justin speculated.

"Okay, now to determine the pairings," Chris announced. "Team number one will be our vision-impaired competitors, Harold and Beth."

"Chris, just because we wear glasses doesn't mean we're blind," Harold said.

"Sure it doesn't…" Chris dismissed.

"Idiot!" Harold exclaimed out of frustration.

"Oh, don't let him get to you. You're way more skilled than he is," Beth assured. "Now let's go win invincibility!"

"You got it," the lanky nerd said as he high-fived the farm girl.

"Team number two will be Justin and Heather. This should be interesting," Chris said as he chuckled.

Heather grabbed Justin and whispered into his ear. "If you dare try to throw this challenge, I won't hesitate to throw you into one of the traps we'll be encountering."

"Hey, I wasn't even thinking about that!" the model exclaimed as he threw his hands up in defense.

"You better not have been…"

Chris had a wide grin on his face. "This leaves us with everybody's favorite couple, Courtney and Duncan!"

"Whoooo!" Duncan shouted in glee.

"I'm not gonna get a break today, am I?" Courtney mumbled in frustration.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Beth: I kind of like my chances in this contest, being paired with one of the best competitors remaining. Then again, I sure hope Harold doesn't think I'm dead weight.

Harold: Everyone has perceived Beth to be nothing more than a follower, but I think she has some hidden skills. She just needs the confidence to bring them out.

Justin: So, Heather doesn't want me to throw the challenge? Fine. I'll just have to find a way to slow her down unintentionally…

Heather: Well, Justin isn't the worst person to be stuck with, considering who's left in this game. Then again, he's one of the physically weakest competitors remaining, too. He'd better not screw this up.

Duncan: Remember when I said I hated this game? I changed my mind. I love this game!

Courtney: Chris totally did that on purpose. He's trying to use Duncan and me as a gimmick to boost ratings. I don't care how handsome and strong and cool he is, it just isn't…aw crap, I didn't mean to say any of that! Just disregard that last statement.

* * *

Chef Hatchet appeared on the scene and pressed a button on the side of the studio. The doors slowly started to open, allowing the castmates to enter the temple inside.

"One last thing, dudes!" Chris shouted. "The temple entrance diverges into three paths! One path might be easier than the other two, so choose wisely!"

The studio doors closed behind the competitors. The studio was pitch black for a few seconds before a path of torches lit up, leading the castmates to the base of the temple. The temple itself was made entirely out of yellowish stone bricks and columns. It was only one story high, but its area spanned nearly the entirety of the space within the studio. The front side of the temple had three openings that led inside.

"_What's up, dudes?"_ Chris asked over a PA system. _"Hah, you all thought you wouldn't have to put up with me, did you? Well tough luck! I'm still watching your every move, so don't try to cheat your way through. That being said…ACTION!"_

Heather immediately sprinted toward the entrance on the right. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" she shouted to Justin. The model turned around and winked toward the other competitors before following Heather into the temple.

"Which way, Harold?" Beth asked.

"Straight down the middle," Harold answered. "I've got a hunch about this one."

As Duncan saw the pair enter the temple, he started stretching with his arms. "Well Princess, it looks like it's just you and me now…" He looked around and noticed that Courtney had already entered the temple. "Heh, I do love it when they play hard to get," he remarked as he ran through the left entrance.

Heather sprinted into the first chamber, but then skidded to an abrupt stop to avoid dropping into the large pitfall in front of her. "Of course…" she mumbled.

Justin casually strolled into the chamber and looked down into the pitfall. At the bottom, he could faintly see a skeleton with its legs bent the wrong way. "Please tell me that's just a prop…" He looked back at Heather. "It looks like we're going to have to have to use some careful planning to get across…"

"Or we could just use that," Heather said as she pointed to a rope hanging from the ceiling.

"Are you sure?" the model asked with a worried look on his face. "It doesn't look safe-"

"Oh, will you just shut up and grab on?" Heather demanded. Justin reluctantly gripped the rope and screamed as Heather shoved him toward the pit. He managed to hang on as he swung over the deep ditch. He let go of the rope once he made it across and stumbled onto the ground.

"Okay…that just wasn't cool," Justin berated through his heavy panting.

Heather simply rolled her eyes as the rope swung back to her. She held a firm grip as she swung across the pit, but the rope snapped as she was halfway across. Heather shrieked as her forward momentum sent her flying toward the edge of the platform. She managed to get her upper body on top of the platform, but her legs hung over the edge, causing her to slide backwards toward the pitfall.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Help me out here!" Heather yelled.

"…let me think about this for a minute." Justin responded as he pretended to ponder his choice.

"_Hey pretty boy!"_ Chef yelled over the PA. "_If you go and leave your partner to die, you get disqualified!"_

"_Now_ you tell me this?" Justin yelled in protest. He ran over to Heather and pulled her back onto the platform.

"Man, that was just a douchebag move, leaving me out there…to die…" Heather started to rant, but stopped as she was drawn into Justin's deep blue eyes and gorgeous smile. "Oh whatever, let's just move on."

As Heather left the chamber, Justin winked at the camera.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Justin: I'm back, baby.

Heather: *facepalms* How in the hell did I fall for that stupid trick?

* * *

"Well this looks easy," Beth said as she surveyed the area. This chamber was a long hallway with holes along the left wall. As the farm girl started to take a step forward, Harold stopped her.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Harold warned. He took a rock out of his pocket and tossed it toward the middle of the hallway. The rock landed on a pressure switch, and an arrow shot out of one of the holes and impaled the right wall. "Just leave this to me."

Harold did one of his various ninja poses before bounding his way across the chamber, dodging the arrows as they flew out. Staying light on his feet, he did a couple of front flips as he reached the other side.

"Holy cow, that was awesome!" an impressed Beth shouted.

"That's weird," Harold said as he looked around. "There should be some kind of switch that shuts down the trap and allows the others to bypass it."

"_Hah! As if I'm gonna let you guys off easy!"_ Chris shouted as he laughed for a few seconds.

"Damn it!" Harold cursed. "Now what do we do?"

Beth considered the situation for a second before her face lit up. "I've got it!"

The wannabe lied down on her belly and started crawling across the hallway. She triggered nearly every pressure switch, but the arrows harmlessly flew over her.

"Nice thinking," Harold complemented as Beth reached the other side.

The two made their way to the second chamber, which was pitch black except for a couple of torches hanging near the entrance. Harold grabbed one of the torches and held it in front of him.

"I wonder what kind of trap Chris left for-AHHHHHH!"

"What's wrong?" Beth asked. She took the torch from Harold and pointed it forward. Guarding the exit were a dozen rattlesnakes, all glaring at the unfortunate pair. "Oh boy…"

* * *

"Come on, Princess! Wait up!" Duncan shouted as he scaled across a vine-covered wall. The chamber contained a pit with a bed of spikes at the bottom and walls that were lined with vines, some sturdy and some unstable.

Courtney had already made it to the other side. "If you don't get over here in the next ten seconds, then I'm leaving you."

Duncan interpreted her words the wrong way and started scrambling along the vines. In his hurry, he grabbed a loose vine and ended up tearing it off the wall, which nearly caused him to fall.

"Aw, dammit!" the punk screamed as he hung by only his left arm.

Courtney shook her head at the sight, trying to hide her deep concern for the ex-convict. In desperation, Duncan started swinging back and forth several times, letting go right as he was above the platform. He fell to the ground with a hard thud.

"Well that was enjoyable," Duncan sarcastically remarked as he picked himself up and followed Courtney into the second chamber.

"We need to pick up the pace if we want to win, Duncan!" Courtney shouted.

"So you aren't afraid of taking things fast, huh?" Duncan joked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Still haven't changed, I see…" Courtney said with an annoyed expression.

The next chamber had a narrow pathway that bridged over a bottomless pit. Several pendulum blades swung back and forth along the path, with each subsequent blade swinging faster than the last.

"Looks fun," Duncan commented.

"All right, let's get this over with," Courtney said. She ran past the first blade and stopped to wait for the next one to swing past her. Right as she leaped past the second blade, Duncan sprinted ahead of her with reckless abandon, and somehow made it across without getting sliced.

"Wow Chris, is that the best you can do?" Duncan asked mockingly.

"_Nice…uh, I mean, shut up dude! I worked real hard ordering other people to create this set!" _Chris shouted.

Courtney was about to scold Chris when she realized that she was standing in the path of the third blade. She dove forward to dodge it, and then scrambled to the other side to elude the rest.

"Hah, that was nothing…really," Courtney commented with a look of nervousness.

"If you're done trying to fool yourself," Duncan said with a smirk, "let's get going."

The pair walked into the third chamber, which was a square room that was completely empty. The floor had a pattern of small holes that extended from wall-to-wall.

"Well this room seems harmless enough…" Duncan said as he took a step forward. As soon as his front foot touched the floor, a series of spikes shot up and pierced his shoe, with the punk pulling his foot back just in time to avoid injury.

"Come on Duncan, you should know by now that Chris would never make it easy on us," Courtney remarked as she surveyed the room.

"Hey, it never hurts to dream…well, I guess it nearly hurt in this one case," Duncan responded as he examined the hole in the sole of his left shoe.

* * *

"Hey Justin, it would be a good idea if you tried MOVING IT!" Heather shouted as she sprinted forward, with the model lagging behind her.

"I don't think panicking will get us out of this mess!" Justin countered.

The pair had entered a maze that was made up of tall stone walls. The ceiling of the chamber was covered in spikes and closed in on them.

"I just think you tend to overanalyze things a bit," said Justin.

"Yeah right!" Heather denied. "You just don't have any sense of urgency!" The queen bee darted around a corner only to find a dead end. The spiked ceiling was only a few feet away.

"If you could just calm down for a minute, you'd see that the solution here is pretty simple," Justin explained as he sat down. He motioned for Heather to take a seat next to him.

"What's sitting around going to solve?" Heather asked as she crouched next to Justin.

"Just watch."

The ceiling hit the top of the maze and found its progress halted as the maze's structure jammed it from getting any closer to Justin and Heather.

"See? The spikes were pretty much a non-factor the whole time," Justin supposed. The two got up and made a couple of left turns before finally finding the exit.

"Wow, Chris is really dumb," Heather remarked. "Or maybe he just did that on purpose just to see what kind of a reaction he'd get. Damn, I might have just given him highlight reel material."

"Don't worry about that, the only thing that matters is that we…" Justin started as he saw Heather run into the next chamber. "Well, I was going to say 'survive,' but apparently she doesn't care about that."

The third chamber for the two was a rock wall with numerous partitions for a climber's hands and feet. Heather started scrambling up the wall in an attempt to make up for lost time.

"Oh man, just when I thought that these challenges couldn't get more physical," Justin muttered as he followed Heather up the wall. "Hey Heather, I can't help but feel that something is off about you today, but I can't put my finger on what it is…"

"Now _you're _the one who's overthinking things," Heather responded.

"I mean, I think you're one of the better strategists in this game, and yet you seemed lost in the last chamber."

"That was an aberration. Come to think of it, how were you able to figure out the trick to that room so easily?"

"You had trouble because you think way too hard, but I almost never think when I'm in the middle of a challenge," Justin chuckled to himself before he realized what he just said. "Oh…"

Heather rolled her eyes as she neared the top of the wall. "Whatever, we need to move quickly so we can prevent Courtney from winning invincibility."

"Wait, _that's _what this is about!" Justin exclaimed. "Wow, that would explain everything, really. It's almost like she's in your head."

Heather glared at Justin for a few seconds before pulling herself over the top of the wall. She proceeded down the elevated path toward the next chamber. The male model was a few feet away, but started to tire.

"Hey, aren't you going to help me out here?" Justin asked. He looked down for a second and noticed that the ground was about fifty yards beneath him. "Aw man…"

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Heather: Really? He thinks that _cheater_ is in my head? Ridiculous!

Justin: In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea to bring up the whole Courtney situation. If she does win invincibility, I could be next on Heather's list of targets. *gulps*

* * *

"Back! Stay back!" Beth yelled as she waved the torch in front of the rattlesnakes, which started converging on the nerdy pair.

"Okay, let me handle this," Harold said as he raised his foot. "The best way to kill the mighty serpent is to crush its head."

"Wait!" Beth ordered as she took a closer look at a rattlesnake that slithered to her feet.

"Careful, Beth. One bite could potentially kill you," Harold warned.

"That would be pretty hard," Beth responded as she picked up the snake, "considering that they don't have any teeth to bite with."

"Huh?" a confused Harold muttered. Beth opened the reptile's mouth, which revealed that it had been de-fanged. "Wow, that's kinda messed up."

"Poor snakes," Beth sympathized. "Did Chris do this to you?" The snake responded with an affirmative rattle of its tail.

"We should get him back for this," Harold suggested.

"Nah, I'm sure the animal rights groups will have a field day with this. Taking out their fangs AND sticking them in a dark studio? Chris had better watch out."

"Good point. Besides, we have bigger worries."

The two walked into the next chamber, which featured…absolutely nothing. There was a piece of paper lying in the middle of the room. Beth picked it up and examined its contents

"Congratulations, you guys stumbled upon the 'free room.'" Beth read. "Actually, I kind of ran out of ideas, so I had to leave this room blank. Whatever! Now move on already! Seriously, why are you still reading this thing? Keep going! Okay, really, is something wrong with you, because you shouldn't have a reason to continue-"

"Beth, we're losing time!" Harold shouted from the corridor to the next chamber.

"Whoops, my mistake," Beth apologized with a nervous smile. She rolled up Chris's note and stuffed it in her pocket as she joined Harold in the next room.

* * *

"Come on, Princess, this is going to take forever…" Duncan moaned as he watched Courtney carefully navigate the spike trap room.

"Well, if you want to suffer an injury that will probably force you out of the game, then be my guest," Courtney responded. She timidly extended her right leg forward to trigger any spike traps in the area. After finding a safe area, she stepped forward and repeated the process.

"Look, as much as I care for our safety, we're going to lose at this rate," Duncan quipped.

"I don't see you coming up with any-WHOA!"

Duncan grabbed Courtney by the arms and lifted her over his head. Without hesitating, Duncan sprinted across the room, activated several spike traps along the way. Despite losing his balance, he somehow managed to stay on his feet long enough to make it to the other side without being fully impaled. Courtney was unscathed, but Duncan's left foot was pierced by one of the spikes, leaving a puncture wound.

"I swear, all these stunts are going to bite me in the ass one of these days," Duncan grunted.

Courtney took a closer look at Duncan's wound. "You can't go on like this."

"Too bad, because I'm not quitting," Duncan asserted. "Do you want to win invincibility or not?"

"Yeah, but I don't want you to suffer a worse injury!" Courtney responded.

The punk raised an eyebrow. "So you do care about me…"

"I do not!" Courtney denied.

"Hey, wasn't there some kind of rule about serious injuries?" Duncan asked. "That means we win, right?"

"_Wrong!"_ Chris answered over the PA. _"A flesh wound does not qualify as a serious injury, so carry on."_

"Remind me to kick his ass the first chance I get," an annoyed Duncan remarked.

Courtney extended her hand to the fallen criminal. "Look, if you're going to be stubborn and continue the challenge with that bum foot, then let's at least get this challenge over with quickly." She pulled Duncan to his feet as the punk tried his best not to put too much weight on his left foot.

"I've suffered worse," Duncan dismissed as he limped alongside Courtney to the next room.

Their fourth chamber was a small room that consisted only of a mine cart on railroad tracks, with the tracks leading into a dark tunnel.

"Really, Chris? A mine cart system in an ancient temple?" Courtney questioned.

"_Total Drama Action is not obliged to be historically accurate,"_ Chris countered.

While Courtney was facepalming in frustration, Duncan crawled into the mine cart. "Huh, it sure is lucky of us to stumble upon a challenge that doesn't involve running or jumping."

The CIT pushed the mine cart from behind to give it forward momentum, then jumped in and rode along with Duncan into the tunnel.

"…this is kinda weird," Courtney commented. "I was expecting more of a-"

She was unable to finish, as the cart suddenly accelerated out of the tunnel and into an area where the track was suspended above a large ravine. The cart underwent a series of twists and inversions as it shot down a roller-coaster-style track, at one point nearly catapulting Duncan into the ravine.

"Chris McClean, are you kidding me?" Courtney yelled in terror.

* * *

Chris and Chef were observing the action from a control room that contained TV monitors showing footage from cameras all over the film lot. Chris was chuckling as Courtney was shouting obscenities at him, which will undoubtedly be edited out of the final broadcast.

"There's nothing like ruining a teenager's day, huh Chef?"

"Those fools had it coming! All those times they insulted my cooking…they should be grateful that they don't end up all soft and mushy like my food after getting their butts whooped in all these challenges!"

An intern joined the co-hosts at the wall of monitors. "So, you guys are focusing on Duncan and Courtney?"

"Duh," Chris answered. "They're the most entertaining of the three pairs in this challenge."

"Say, I know how much you like betting on challenges, so how would you like to get in on this pool that me and the other interns started?" the intern proposed.

"Let me guess. You're betting on whether our lovey-dovey couple here will make out."

"Come on, Chris! That's _so _last season! We're doing something completely different!"

"All right, then what is it?"

"We're betting on how many _times_ they'll make out by the end of the season."

"Brilliant!" Chris exclaimed while rubbing his hands together. He pulled out a clipboard that contained notes from season one. "So what have you bet on?"

"Twice," the intern replied. "Nothing drastic. I think it's a reasonable guess."

"I'll take the over. According to my data here, they kissed twice in season one and at least once in the special," Chris claimed. "I'll put fifty bucks down on three."

"Seventy-five big ones on five! Count on it!" Chef shouted with confidence.

"At least you guys aren't making exaggerated guesses…" the intern said as he pointed to another group of interns gathered in the other end of the room. They were debating their choices for the bet, with some arguments getting more physical than others.

"There's what? Nine episodes remaining? I say nine because they're going to average one kiss per episode."

"_One_ per episode? You're selling them too short. I say twenty-five, because they're bound to make up for lost time."

"You'll have to do better than that. I'm guessing sixty-nine times because…heh, sixty-nine…"

"You're just disgusting. I say they won't kiss at all, mainly because Courtney is too focused on winning this game, and there are still some doubts about Duncan's loyalty to her after that incriminating clip was aired on the last Aftermath show."

The rest of the interns turned toward the unfortunate soul who made the last guess. One by one, they started dog piling on top of him, landing as many punches as they could.

"How dare you form an opinion that is different from ours!"

"Yeah! Who said you could bring logic and reasoning into this?"

"You just pissed off the majority of the fanbase with that remark!"

Chris and Chef shook their heads as they watched the brawl ensue. The intern standing near them sighed in disappointment. "I'll go get the first-aid kit," he said as he sulked off.

Chris turned toward the camera. "Well, so far we've had our fair share of entertainment, but we're still left wondering a few things. How many times are Duncan and Courtney going to smooch? Will it be enough for all the DxC fans out there? Who will be the ultimate winner of this bet?"

"What exactly does any of that crap have to do with the actual episode?" Chef asked.

"Oh yeah. Who's going to win the challenge? Who will be sent home? Stay tuned as we struggle to stay on topic after the break!"

* * *

Score

**Beth and Harold: **Entering Chamber 4

**Courtney and Duncan: **Inside Chamber 4

**Heather and Justin: **Between Chambers 3 and 4

* * *

**Next Time: **The most dramatic Gilded Chris Ceremony EVER! I know we promise this every week, but they're not _all_ empty promises, right? Right? Come on, somebody back me up here!


	8. E17,P2:The Ring of Broken Ties

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Total Drama Island or its characters. The rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and the producers of the show. No profit has been earned in the making of this fanfiction (darn copyright laws). The opinions expressed by the characters in this story DO NOT represent my own opinions. I'm also supposed to tell you something else…something about the ridiculously dangerous stunts on this show…yeah, I'm drawing a blank here.

**Author's Note: **The episode numbers have been changed to reflect what they would be in the real show (Episode 1 here becomes Episode 14, Episode 2 becomes 15, etc.) to avoid confusion in the future.

* * *

Episode 4, Part 2: The Ring of Broken Ties

Justin walked into the fourth chamber, sweaty from spending the last fifteen minutes scaling a difficult rock wall. He met Heather just outside the entrance, who was formulating a plan to navigate the obstacle ahead.

"Holy crap," Justin uttered in shock as he surveyed his surroundings. The chamber contained a pool of lava that spanned the entire room. The only safe areas were the platforms at both the entrance and exit, and the numerous stepping stones that bridged the two platforms together.

"I know, right?" an annoyed Heather asked.

"Wait, if this is supposed to be an Egyptian temple, then what is all this lava doing here?" Justin wondered.

Heather shook her head. "It's like Chris isn't even trying anymore."

"_Of course I'm trying!"_ Chris retaliated. _"I'm trying to make this challenge so difficult that it could possibly kill you!"_

Heather and Justin looked at each other with disturbed, but unsurprised, faces. "You'd think the authorities would've figured out by now that Chris is homicidal," Justin droned.

Heather stood at the edge of the platform, preparing to get a running start. "Okay, the key here is to cross as quickly as you can. The less time you spend worrying about balance, the less likely you are to screw up and fall in."

"I sure wish we could get a practice run at this," a nervous Justin said.

The queen bee pushed off her back leg and leaped for the nearest stepping stone. She gracefully bounded from stone to stone, taking long strides without hesitation. She somersaulted as she reached the opposite platform and dusted off her legs. Justin merely stared at Heather with his jaw agape.

"I guess my talents in ballet finally paid off," Heather shrugged, dismissing the previous obstacle as a simple impediment.

"You expect me to do _that_?" Justin incredulously exclaimed.

"It's not as hard as it looks," Heather assured.

Justin gulped as he took his running start and recklessly started crossing the lava pool. He attempted to replicate Heather's long strides, but his legs could not stretch out far enough. About halfway across, his foot slipped off of one of the stones and sent the model tumbling into the lava.

Heather winced at the sight, feeling slightly sympathetic toward Justin. "Well that's a harsh way to go out," she muttered to herself. She started to turn toward the exit when she heard a splashing noise. She looked over her shoulder and saw Justin emerge from the lava, swimming toward the other side as quickly as possible.

"HOT! HOT! HOT!" Justin wailed as she scrambled out of the lava and onto the platform. Heather took a long look at him and noticed that his skin was not burnt, although it was starting to turn red.

"What in the world? Must be one of Chris' lame attempts at special effects," Heather said.

"Yeah, it's just water with a bunch of red lights at the bottom to make it look like lava," Justin explained as he grit his teeth through the pain. "Then again, the water is still boiling hot!"

"_Boy, you should consider yourself lucky we weren't able to get real lava in time for the filming of this episode!_" Chef yelled over the PA.

"Sure thing, Chef. Whatever you say," Justin responded, clearly angry at the co-host.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Heather: I used to believe Chris whenever he said that he was out to seriously injure or kill us, but now I'm starting to think that those were just empty threats.

Justin: Sometimes I wonder how much respect Heather would command if she weren't such a jerk. I mean, she can complete pretty much any challenge with ease! It's kind of impressive. You know, if you look past the whole "evil manipulator" thing.

* * *

Beth and Harold entered their fourth chamber, which looked identical to the previous room they were in. It was an empty square room that provided a straight path to the exit.

"Wow, I didn't think we'd get two easy rooms in a row," Beth remarked, surprised at their good fortune.

As the pair reached the middle of the room, the ground suddenly shook, causing them to wobble back and forth for a second. Harold quickly turned around and saw a large stone golem charging straight at them.

"Watch out!" he yelled as he pulled Beth out of harm's way. The golem slid to a stop and slowly made a 180-degree turn, preparing to bull rush the two nerds again.

"We've got to make a break for the exit!" Beth exclaimed, only to watch as a sliding stone door blocked their means of escape.

"So it's come down to this…" Harold said with a determined look on his face.

Harold dodged the golem's second charge as he started running towards the east wall. The golem slowly turned around and made another attempt to ram the lanky teen. Harold quickly sidestepped and watch the golem run into the wall.

"Nice job!" Beth cheered as she ran toward the exit. Unfortunately, the door remained closed. "Wait, now what are we supposed to do?"

"_I hope you guys realize that you actually have to defeat that thing in order to advance,_" Chris responded.

"In that case, have some of THIS!" Harold shouted as he kicked the golem in the leg. The kick ended up doing more damage to Harold than to the golem, as he started bouncing on one leg while he rubbed his kicking foot. "Ow! That probably wasn't one of my smarter moves."

It took thirty seconds for the golem to pry itself free from the wall. Once it was able to move again, it targeted Beth for its next attack.

"Oh man," Beth squeaked as she dove to the side. The golem punched the ground with enough force to create a small hole in the floor.

"Although this golem appears to be powerful, it's also horrendously slow," Harold noticed.

Beth was about to get up when she noticed that she dropped Chris' note from the previous chamber. She quickly scanned the part of the note that was still unread and found some interesting information at the end.

"P.S.: If for some reason you're still wasting your time looking at this note," Beth read aloud, "I might as well tell you that the only way you can beat the monster in the next chamber is by kicking its butt. Literally."

"Behind you!" Harold warned.

Beth quickly whipped her head around and saw the golem rearing its arm back to punch the ground again. Remembering the contents of the note, she dove forward and slid between the golem's legs. The golem punched the floor and ended up getting its fist stuck. Beth jumped up in an attempt to kick the golem's butt, but could only manage a light tap. To her surprise, the golem instantly fell apart, causing the exit door to open.

"Now that was well done," Harold commended, nodding his head in approval.

An embarrassed Beth rubbed the back of her head. "There's no time to pat ourselves on the back, though," she said as she ran for the exit, with Harold closely trailing.

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Harold: I suppose I could have handled that battle a little better, but it's nice to know that Beth is capable of stepping up in this kind of situation.

Beth: I've always wanted to avoid challenges in the past, but now that I have more experience, I think I stand a better chance now.

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow…" Justin groaned with each step as he slowly followed Heather into the treasure room. They entered the room at the top of a tall staircase, leading down to three pedestals that held identical artifacts.

"Hah! It looks like we're the first ones here," Heather noticed as she sprinted down the staircase.

"Good. Maybe we can take five. You know, until the stinging dies down," Justin grumbled.

The model was about to slump forward when a large boulder suddenly dropped just inches in front of him and started to roll down the staircase. Heather could feel the impact behind her, and nearly tripped as she starting scrambling toward the bottom.

"Hurry up Heather…oh, what am I worried for? Of course she's gonna get out of the way," Justin reasoned to himself.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"…that wasn't Heather," Justin muttered as he looked to his right to find the source of a pair of screaming voices.

Duncan and Courtney were still riding the mine cart as they entered the final room, waiting for their first chance to get off of the wild ride. The track eventually brought the cart parallel to a long stretch of ground where they could ditch the cart.

"So when is this thing supposed to stop?" Duncan asked.

"…it isn't," Courtney gulped as she saw that the track would come to an end fifty feet away.

"Oh crap. Jump for it!" Duncan yelled as he vaulted himself off of the cart. Courtney tumbled out a second later and immediately made a break for the artifact. As Duncan watched the cart fly off the tracks and into the chasm, he never heard a sound indicating that the cart had hit the bottom.

Heather reached the bottom of the staircase and dove to the left as the boulder harmlessly passed by. "Come on, Justin! Can't you run interference or something?"

"I'm kind of having problems here!" Justin complained as he slowly made his way down the staircase, still feeling scalding pain all over his body.

Harold and Beth finally reached the artifact room and simply had to sprint across a narrow pathway to get to the treasure. Unfortunately, the path started to crumble behind them, forcing the pair to hustle.

Harold made it to the other side with ease, but Beth was a tad slower due to having shorter legs. Upon reaching the end of the path, she dove forward and barely avoided falling into the abyss.

"Are you all right?" a concerned Harold asked.

"Forget about me. Look!" Beth shouted as she pointed towards Duncan, who was hobbling his way over to the artifacts. This prompted Harold to race over in his direction.

Heather quickly got up and started running towards Duncan as well. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you-"

"Not so fast!" Courtney interrupted as she dove for Heather's legs and held on to them as she brought the queen bee to the ground.

"Oh, now that's hot," Duncan commented as he reached one of the pedestals.

"Duncan! Focus!" Courtney ordered, trying to hide her blush.

As the criminal reached for the artifact, he noticed something very familiar about it. "Wait a minute…this is just a Gilded Chris!"

"_Wrong answer, my man,_" Chris said. "_That's not a Gilded Chris award…it's a _Golden _Chris award!_"

"…I don't even know what to say anymore," a flabbergasted Courtney uttered.

"There's no time for this," Duncan dismissed as he reached for the artifact.

"Not so fast!" Harold yelled as he charged toward Duncan. The punk merely sidestepped, causing Harold to collide with the pedestal. The impact knocked the Golden Chris to the ground, where it rolled for a few feet and over the edge into the chasm.

"Oh, that's real nice," Duncan remarked. Upon saying that, the ground started to shake and the ceiling began to crumble.

"Uh oh," Harold said as he rubbed his head. "I just remembered that as soon as you grab the treasure, there's another trap that you have to deal with."

"Now what?" Justin asked as he finally made it to the bottom of the staircase. A large chunk of the ceiling landed right behind him, prompting the model to run for the exit screaming.

After some struggles, Heather managed to pry Courtney off of her. "I swear, I have to do everything myself!"

Amidst the chaos, nobody noticed Beth grabbing one of the remaining Golden Chris awards and hightailing it out of the temple. "Harold! Let's move!"

Heather snatched the last Golden Chris and followed Beth. She had to zigzag a couple of times to avoid falling debris. Harold tried to keep up with Heather, but was slowed down from feeling wooziness after hitting the pedestal earlier.

Duncan stomped the ground in frustration, having the misfortune of using his injured foot to do so. "Ouch! Dammit! Princess, let's book it already!"

Courtney slowly got up and met Duncan at the pedestals, with every Golden Chris award gone. "We're screwed, aren't we? There's almost no chance that we'll both survive this week."

Duncan scowled as he realized that invincibility was out of their grasp. "I'll think of something. We'll get out of this mess somehow," he reassured as debris continued to fall around them.

* * *

Back in the monitor room, the group of interns looked on as the challenge was nearing its conclusion. Despite the fact that they were witnessing a thrilling finish, the main thing that they had on their minds was their bet.

"Come on! Kiss her already!"

"I am NOT losing seventy bucks over this!"

"Seriously, if you're not gonna make any effort to escape from a collapsing building, you might as well…"

"Guys, I'm pretty sure that at this point, they're focused on finding a way to avoid getting voted out, not to mention trying to escape with their lives, which means that there would be no time to waste with-"

The dissenting intern was punched in the stomach before he could finish his claim. "Stop stating facts!" the aggressor demanded.

"Now was that really necessary?" the unfortunate victim grunted as he keeled over.

"Cut it out, guys!" Chef ordered. "I don't need anyone distracting me from the action over here!"

"Thanks, Chef. It's good to know that you care about our safety…"

"Says the fool that's all caught up in the romantic lives of people they don't even personally know!"

"I guess that's a fair point. Maybe we both need to get our priorities straight."

"All right boy, it's your turn to go get the Gilded Chris awards for tonight. The rest of you need to go set up the stage for tonight's ceremony. Let's move it, people!"

The interns followed Chef's command and left the monitor room. The co-host stayed behind and watched the conclusion of the challenge unfold.

* * *

Chris stood by the studio's exit, waiting for the castmates to emerge. Justin was the first person out, and his skin was noticeably red.

"Justin! You got a little something on your…entire body."

"Really, Chris? How far are you willing to go with these challenges?" an annoyed Justin asked.

"The sky's the limit, my man. Unfortunately, it appears you are empty-handed, so-"

"I'm here, Chris!" Beth shouted as she made it outside, holding up the Golden Chris.

"Nicely done, Beth," Chris applauded. "It looks like you-"

"Screw you, Chris!" Heather scorned as she emerged from the temple with her own Golden Chris. "These challenges keep getting worse every week!"

"Thank you, I try my best," Chris responded with a bow. "Now if you guys would let me finish here-"

"Just give me and Justin invincibility already," Heather demanded.

"Yeah…I'm afraid this challenge doesn't quite work that way," Chris nervously said.

"What are you talking about? Is this another one of your crappy technicalities? Don't tell me Courtney sued the show again!"

"No, Courtney hasn't done anything this time, and the technicality thing is debatable," Chris started. "You see, even though I split everybody into pairs, I specifically said that the first _person _to exit the temple with the artifact would win invincibility. By that rule, Beth is the winner of today's challenge!

"I won? Yay!" Beth shouted with glee. "Wait a minute, what about Harold?"

"What _about _Harold? He's not the one holding the Golden Chris," Chris explained. "Speaking of which, here he comes."

Harold finally managed to exit the temple, but had a couple of bruises from being hit by falling debris. "I sure hope I don't get a concussion from all of this. Did I miss anything?"

"You missed Chris making another egregious rule change," Heather answered, bitter about the result.

"That wasn't a rule change! It was there from the start!" Chris shouted in defense. "It's not my fault you weren't listening carefully enough."

"But I shouldn't be the only one who gets invincibility! It's not fair that Harold worked his butt off in that challenge and gets nothing for it," Beth complained.

"It's all right, Beth. You earned that victory," Harold said with a smile.

"But you need invincibility more than I do," the farm girl retorted.

"No giving away invincibility!" Chris asserted. "That's just lame."

"Hey, what happened to Courtney and Duncan?" Justin asked out of concern.

"I sure hope they're making out in there…" Chris mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Heather asked with a weird expression on her face.

"I said I hope that they make it out alive!" Chris exclaimed. The two fan favorites finally emerged from the temple, looking dirty but no worse for wear.

"The Golden Chris award? How much more narcissistic can you get?" Courtney angrily asked.

"Well what did you expect? A bunch of statuettes in _your_ image? Please!" The host turned toward Duncan. "Dude, you might want to get that wound checked out."

"What's the point? If I see Chef, all he's gonna do is put a band-aid on my foot and kiss it," Duncan scoffed.

"If you say so," Chris responded. "All right, the Gilded Chris ceremony is in a couple of hours. Beth is safe tonight. The rest of you…heh, good luck! You're gonna need it!

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Heather: Perhaps this week's results weren't quite as bad as last week's, but as long as Chris continues to make these rules as ambiguous as possible, there's no predicting who will win.

Harold: To be honest, I don't mind missing out on invincibility. The only thing that matters is that Courtney and Heather are vulnerable tonight…now I just have to decide who to vote for.

Justin: I've been thinking about this all day, but there might be a way for me to win the favor of the others, ensuring me a spot in the Final Two. The problem is that it's an incredibly risky plan…

Courtney: It's so annoying to see Chris acting so smug after we've suffered dozens of near-death experiences throughout the show's run. He's going to get it… *takes out PDA*

* * *

The lonely intern entered a storage room located in one of the deepest parts of the film lot. He had light brown hair and green eyes, and sported a pair of glasses. He was wearing an intern uniform, which consisted of a red shirt, khaki shorts, and a cap with the number 99 on it. The intern grabbed five Gilded Chris awards and sighed, hoping that his fellow interns only represented a small portion of the Total Drama fanbase.

Once he left the storage room, he temporarily set the awards aside and took out his cell phone to make a call.

"Hello?" asked a familiar voice on the other end.

"Hey Karl, it's Lenny," the intern responded.

"Dude, how's it going on your end?"

"…I'd rather not talk about it. What about you?"

"I got stuck with the task of finding the studio where the Aftermath episodes are being filmed."

"Of course! The contestants at the Aftermath have seen everything that's happened so far! Maybe one of them has the info we need."

"Sure, but that's only if I can find the damn place. I've been searching all over Toronto, and there's nothing. Absolutely nothing!"

"You know, there's an easy way to find that studio."

"Well, what is it?"

"Come back to the film lot, wait until the elimination ceremony is over, then tail the Lame-o-sine. Even if it doesn't take you straight to the Aftermath studio, you'll at least know where the eliminated contestants are gathered."

"See, this is why _you_ should be the one doing this crap, not me."

"You're welcome."

"Heh, thanks man. See you soon."

Lenny hung up. "Yeah, if those asshole fanboys don't murder me first…"

* * *

Courtney anxiously paced back and forth within the girls' trailer, which annoyed Heather, who was lying in bed and trying to contemplate her next move.

"Is there a specific reason why you can't stay still?"

Courtney glared at the queen bee, still upset by the events from before the challenge. "I'll have you know, I'm waiting for an important call. Once that call comes, your defeat tonight will be ensured."

Heather rolled her eyes. "If I had a nickel for every time I've heard someone say they'll vote me out…"

"I'm serious!" Courtney claimed.

"Of course you are," Heather sarcastically replied. "Hey, where's Beth?"

"I dunno. She could be using the Confession Cam for all I know."

Heather was still suspicious, so she got up and left the trailer, ignoring the sound of Courtney's PDA as it received an incoming phone call. Once Heather made it outside, she could hear faint voices coming from the boys' cabin. She snuck over to a window and peered inside, witnessing an unexpected scene taking place…

"Okay guys, I know your alliance seems like the kind of group that sticks to a game plan with no intention of deviating but…you have to help me take out Heather and Courtney!" Beth pleaded.

"For the last time Beth, we don't have an alliance!" Justin denied.

"Save your breath," Duncan said. "There's no need to keep it a secret at this point."

"I don't think it was much of a secret to begin with," Harold disputed.

"You know Beth, it's pretty weird seeing you jump ship like that, especially when you have invincibility this week," Justin noted. "What's the reason?"

"Well, you guys are the only alliance that's left, and I'm sure either Heather or Courtney will attempt to join up with you eventually," Beth explained. "We need to vote them out before they try anything funny."

"Then it's settled. The four of us are voting for Heather tonight," Duncan announced.

"Well, we could try voting out Courtney," Justin brought up. "You know, with all the advantages she keeps getting, we may not get a better opportunity than this." Duncan threw a pillow at the model's face to signify that he was shooting down his idea.

"That's not a bad plan, actually," Beth said, trying to defend Justin.

"Sure it isn't," Duncan replied. "Unless if you want to get voted out next week…while wearing a full body cast."

Harold sighed, knowing that the conversation was about to take an ugly turn.

"Why do we always have to go with your idea?" Justin questioned. "In this case, it's not necessarily the best strategy."

"Because I founded this alliance, and I've been keeping your butts safe for the past couple of weeks," Duncan argued.

"But the best move for the alliance is to take out Courtney!" Justin argued. "If Harold had to vote out Leshawna, I don't see any reason why you can't-"

"I've heard enough out of you!" Duncan interrupted. "If you want to vote for Courtney, that's fine by me. I'll make sure you're ousted _tonight_. Does that sound good to you?"

"Come on, Duncan. You probably don't see me as an actual threat, so why pass on an opportunity to take out one of the stronger competitors left?"

"Hey, I was totally prepared to vote Heather out tonight, but since you plan on defying my strategy, I might as well get rid of you now."

"Dude! Think about this for a second! Do you honestly think that Courtney would keep you around until the Final Two?"

"That better be a rhetorical question. If not, you're asking for it."

"_Attention castmates, it's voting time!"_ Chris announced over his bullhorn. _"Everybody must report to the Gilded Chris ceremony immediately!"_

Duncan gave Justin the death glare before walking out of the trailer. Heather snuck around the back of the trailer before she could be spotted.

"Well, this is going to get messy," Harold remarked.

"I guess that's the end of your alliance," Beth said. "Sorry about that."

"It's all right. I didn't expect it to last much longer anyways…"

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Harold: Duncan's lack of leadership skills has been keeping his alliances unstable. I mean, he can't even sustain one for more than two episodes! Anyways, I suppose I could vote for Heather, although Justin did make an excellent point. I've got a chance to get Courtney out of my hair…but if Duncan finds out, I'm as good as dead. *sighs*

Duncan: Heather's actions today are pretty difficult to ignore. I'm not letting anyone badmouth Princess like that without answering to me first. Then again, Justin is trying to get her eliminated tonight. I was hoping I could wait another week to take out one of my alliance mates, but…ugh! Do I attack Heather, or do I defend Princess? Damn, this is tough…

Courtney: Finally, I get another chance to take out Harold. The problem is that I did guarantee that Heather would be voted out tonight. I don't want to look like an idiot by not backing it up! But damn it, I don't want to see Harold string a bunch of invincibility wins together either!

*looks at PDA* This thing needs a coin flip app.

Beth: I never thought that asking the boys for help would lead to the demise of their alliance. It's weird how things work out like that. I guess I might as well side with Justin on this one. It's not just because he's the hottest contestant remaining…okay, that might have a little to do with it…but I think it will be difficult to eliminate Courtney if we don't vote her out tonight.

Heather: Well, now I know that those dweebs are trying to target me, but that sorry excuse of an alliance has no chance to vote me out now that they're in shambles. Thanks, Justin. You just gave me the opening I need to escape yet again.

Justin: Oh man, I don't know if I can go through with this…but I guess there's no turning back now. I don't know if Duncan is gonna forgive me for what I said earlier, but if everything falls into place, I won't even have to worry about him. I just need a little luck…

* * *

Chris and Chef walked out on stage, with the six castmates waiting anxiously in the bleachers, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chris started, "it's been a rough season so far, but after tonight, the lucky people who survive elimination will be a part of Total Drama Action's Final Five!"

Chris paused, waiting for applause from the audience, but the six competitors didn't comply. Courtney and Heather were glaring at each other, and Duncan was doing to the same to Justin, who was wringing has hands in nervousness. Harold tried to clear his thoughts in an attempt to calm his own nerves, while Beth simply observed what everyone else was doing.

"Uh, okay," Chris said as he cleared his throat. "Anyway, after today's brutal challenge which featured a couple of injuries and a wild finish-"

"A challenge, might I add, that was poorly run," Courtney interrupted.

Chris ignored the outburst. "…we sit here knowing that one of you is about to feel the agony of defeat after making it this far into the game."

"That's nice, now let's just get to the voting already," Heather said hastily.

"In due time. First, I wanna know what's on your mind. Justin, you're not looking too comfortable there, man."

"For the record Chris, I don't think there's a single moment in this game where anybody would actually feel comfortable," Justin countered.

"Ah, you're just trying to cover it up. What about you, Duncan? After narrowly avoiding elimination two weeks in a row, surely you've made some kind of adjustment, right?"

"Nope," the punk bluntly answered.

"…that's it? All right, suit yourself. Finally, Beth…you actually WON something! That might be the surprise of the season so far! Do think this changes everyone's perception of you?"

"I hope not," Beth responded. "I mean, it would be great to earn a little respect, but I don't want the others to start targeting me because I look like a threat."

"Well, you certainly won't be targeted tonight. Okay everyone, it's time to cast your votes."

The castmates pulled out the voting devices and carefully made their decisions. Beth and Heather cast their votes without hesitating. Duncan and Harold thought it over before finally making a choice. Courtney nervously moved her finger back and forth between two names before eventually settling on her vote. Justin tucked his voting device where no one could see it before making his choice.

"And the votes are in!" Chris announced. "I thought last week's results were weird, but this…oh man, this is gonna be good."

All six contenders had nervous expressions on their faces as the host continued. "You guys know the drill. There are six of you and only five Gilded Chris awards. The person who doesn't receive a Gilded Chris must immediately take the Walk of Shame and board the Lame-o-sine, and they won't be able to come back…EVER!"

"As usual, the first Gilded Chris goes to the invincibility winner, Beth." Chef tossed the award to the farm girl, who was still unnerved despite being guaranteed safety.

"The next award goes to the person who didn't receive a single vote…Duncan? Huh, go figure." Chris scratched his head in confusion as Chef threw the second award. The punk caught his Gilded Chris with a smirk, unsurprised at the result.

"The next Gilded Chris goes to…Harold!"

"Yes!" Harold exclaimed as he caught his award. He took a quick glance at Courtney and noticed that there was no reaction from her, causing the nerd to raise an eyebrow.

"The penultimate Gilded Chris goes to…

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"…Courtney!"

The CIT didn't make an attempt to catch her award, as she was focused on seeing who gets the final Gilded Chris.

"And it comes down to you two…" Chris said as he faced Justin and Heather.

"Heather, I have no idea how you lasted this long. Well, I guess all those invincibility wins as a member of the Screaming Gaffers helped, but you still survived two Gilded Chris ceremonies where you were vulnerable." Heather wanted to counter with a snide remark, but refrained from doing so.

"Justin, what happened, man? You had your good looks working for you in the early part of the season, but now, it's clearly not doing you any favors. Still, I'm impressed you managed to get this far in the competition despite having few physical or strategic abilities." Justin looked toward the ground in disappointment, believing that his defeat was assured.

"The final Gilded Chris, and the last spot in the Final Five, goes to…"

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…

…

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"…neither of you."

"WHAT?" the contestants screamed in disbelief. Beth and Harold dropped their awards in shock, while Duncan slapped his forehead out of frustration.

"Well, for the moment, the last Gilded Chris is still up for grabs," Chris explained. "For the first time in Total Drama history, two players have tied for receiving the most number of votes. In order to decide this in the fairest way possible, a tiebreaker challenge will be held between Heather and Justin."

"You want me to do _another _challenge? Ridiculous!" Heather protested.

"What did you expect? Did you think we were gonna pick rocks out of a bag or something? We're not cheap like that," Chris replied.

"That actually doesn't sound so bad," Justin said.

"Yeah, you guys don't actually have a say in this…so off we go!"

Chris and Chef led the way to the location of the challenge, but the competitors were slow to follow, as they were still trying to comprehend how the vote turned out the way it did.

Meanwhile, Karl emerged from the nearby bushes, having witnessed the entire ceremony. "Oh, what the hell? It had to be tonight! The one time they have a tie in the voting! I swear, they never make it easy on me…"

* * *

**Confession Cam**

Beth: *buries face in hands* Oh man…I made the wrong choice, didn't I?

Courtney: I swear, sometimes the voting makes no sense at all…

Duncan: So Princess received a vote…somebody's got some explaining to do! *pounds fist*

Harold: By my calculations, Heather and Justin only received two votes apiece. That means at least one person among the Guys' Alliance defected. I'm certain that it was Duncan…but did he vote for me or Justin?

Heather: This game has been falling apart for the past few episodes…it's like no one is using their head anymore! Especially not Chris!

Justin: Holy cow…phase one of my plan was actually a success! As straightforward as phase two will be, it's still gonna be a tough fight.

* * *

Chris led the castmates to the center of the film lot, which was just a simple stretch of flat ground surrounded by the numerous studios in a grid pattern. On the ground was a large circle that was crudely drawn with white chalk.

"Justin. Heather. You're arena awaits…" Chris directed.

"Arena? It looks like it was made by a five-year-old," Heather remarked.

"Hey! You'll hurt the interns' feelings with that insult!" the host replied.

"Really?" Justin asked.

Chris chuckled. "Nah, I don't care about the interns."

"Now here are the rules. This arena here is simply known as The Ring. Two people enter…one person leaves."

Justin and Heather exchanged nervous looks.

"…and the person that does leave must immediately take the Walk of Shame, take a ride on the Lame-o-sine, yadda yadda, you know how it works."

The two competitors sighed in relief.

"…you know, provided the person that remains in The Ring is still alive."

"Oh, will you knock it off?" Justin cried out.

Chris broke out into a fit of laughter. "Okay then. I suppose you want a more detailed explanation. When the challenge starts, you two will face hazards that you've already seen in the fifteen challenges you've faced this season. Your job is simply to avoid them to the best of your ability. This challenge is only a test of your dodging skills, so physical contact with your opponent is not allowed. The first person to have their entire body outside of The Ring is eliminated. Got it?"

The model and the queen bee nodded as they stepped into The Ring.

"I would suggest that the rest of you keep a safe distance away…" Chris advised as he looked around.

"We're one step ahead of you!" Harold yelled as he hid behind one of the studios along with the rest of the contestants.

"Not that far!" Chris protested. "You won't be able to see anything from there!"

Justin and Heather stood by, waiting for the challenge to start. "Hey, did you vote for me?" Justin inquired as he turned to face Heather.

"I'm not inclined to give you that information," Heather answered.

"Well I'll have you know that I didn't vote for you," Justin said.

"Really? That makes tonight's vote even more messed up…" Heather mused as she rubbed her chin, trying to make sense of the result.

"All right, combatants! Get ready!" Chris shouted. "And…ACTION!"

Right off the bat, a couple of hoses emerged from the ground and doused Justin and Heather in the goo from the alien challenge. While their movements weren't completely hindered, they were still noticeably slower than usual.

"Now how is this fair?" Heather complained as the next hazard emerged.

Four cannons rose from the ground and started firing paint bombs. Heather managed to dive to her right to avoid it, but Justin wasn't as quick to react, and was pelted by three bombs, causing orange paint to splatter all over him.

"Oh…that had to hurt," Chris commented.

"Hey, I don't remember this from a previous challenge," Justin griped.

"Some of these hazards might only be loosely related to one of the challenges. The paint bombs here are from the war challenge. The cannons were my own idea," Chris explained.

"That figures…" Justin muttered as he tried to shake off the mixture of paint and goo that was covering him.

"And now, from the beach challenge, I'm sure you remember our rare, deadly, man-eating, freshwater sharks!" Chris introduced. On cue, a pair of sharks jumped into The Ring to the bewilderment of the onlookers, as they wondered how the sharks could move so well on dry land.

"I'm sure they remember me as well," Justin said as he flashed a smile toward the shark that was charging him. Unfortunately, he was unrecognizable to the shark due to the messy substances that were layered on his body, and the creature tackled him. The two slid all the way to the boundary, with Justin's head poking outside the line. The model struggled to avoid being pushed out oven further.

Heather's predicament wasn't much better, as the other shark bared its sharp teeth at her. The queen bee was on her back, trying to use her legs to push the aquatic predator back.

"Go Justin!" Beth cheered. "You've got to win this!"

"I assume we're all on Justin's side here, right?" Harold asked.

Courtney scoffed. "I'm not rooting for Justin. I'm just rooting against Heather."

"Yeah, I'm pretty much hoping for a tie," Duncan said. "Knowing Chris, he'd probably eliminate them both in that case."

Heather eventually kicked the shark in the nose, causing it to run off in tears. "Okay, seriously, how is it doing that? It doesn't even have legs!"

"Okay, this looks like it's too easy. You've managed to stay in the middle of The Ring the entire time," Chris noticed. "I know how to fix that. Chef!"

Heather turned around to see Chef reaching into a sack and tossing random objects toward the queen bee. "I love this job!" the co-host said as he managed to hit Heather several times, forcing her toward the boundary.

"Hey Chris, is that from the disaster challenge or the Christmas challenge?" Beth asked.

"I forget. We'll probably find out later, if these two manage to last that long," Chris answered.

Justin was still in a wrestling match with the remaining shark, and his upper body was outside the boundary. Using his legs, he flipped the shark over his head and outside The Ring. The model slowly got up and shuffled his way back to the middle of the arena.

"Now this particular hazard should be very familiar to you guys," Chris said as the four cannons from earlier emerged again. This time they shot large chunks of rock at Justin and Heather.

"This is from today's challenge, isn't it," an annoyed Heather grumbled as she lied on her belly to avoid the projectiles.

"We do love to recycle here, and we couldn't let the ceiling chunks go to waste," Chris explained with a sinister smile.

Justin was also on the ground, and he tried sliding away from the flying gravel when he saw a large shadow in the distance. "Oh…crap."

The ground shook as the shadowed figure took heavy footsteps toward the arena. "And now for one of my personal favorites, the monster from the first episode!" Chris presented.

The monster gave a loud roar as it stepped into The Ring, proceeding to stomp the ground in an attempt to crush the unfortunate competitors.

"Chris, you're freaking insane!" Justin yelled as he dodged the monster's massive feet.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Chris responded with an evil laugh. He pressed a button, which unleashed another familiar face into The Ring. "Now here's someone who's back from the dead!"

"Oh great, it's that piece of crap," Duncan spat as he watched a skeletal version of the T-Rex from the prehistoric challenge jump into the arena.

The monster switched its attention to Heather. In a risky move, the queen bee started running along the boundary of The Ring to get away from the giant robotic creature.

The T-Rex darted toward Justin and picked him up with its mouth. Instead of swallowing Justin like in the challenge from three episodes ago, it instead tossed the model toward the edge of the arena. As Justin was about to tumble outside of the boundary, he managed to keep one arm inside The Ring and crawled back in.

Harold breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Too close."

"I wouldn't hold out hope for him," Courtney said. "That thing is nearly impossible to defeat even with a weapon, and Justin is unarmed here.

Justin attempted to run around the T-Rex, but to no avail. The dinosaur headbutted Justin and knocked him back towards the boundary. Heather, who was still running from the giant monster, had to jump over the model while she continued to avoid the robot's feet.

"Is it over?" a dizzy Justin asked as he remained lying on top of the boundary. The T-Rex prepared to pick him up again, but the giant monster inadvertently stepped on top of the dinosaur and broke the skeleton apart.

"Rest in peace, you brave soldier…" Chris said with a salute, to the aggravation of the four bystanders.

"Just end the challenge, Chris!" Heather demanded. "Justin can't even move!"

"Since when are you concerned for his safety?" the host asked.

"Never. I just think continuing is a waste of time."

"Well, forget it! This challenge isn't over until someone leaves The Ring!"

Chef took out another sack and started tossing presents into the arena. "I'll be surprised if they're both still in after this," he said as he tossed one gift toward Justin.

"Hey, _there's _the Christmas hazard! Hey Chef, where's your costume? It's not quite the same unless you're in the holiday spirit!" Chris taunted.

The co-host responded by hitting Chris in the head with a heavy-looking present. "BOOM! Headshot!" he yelled, with the observing contestants cheering Chef's bold move.

"Oh, that is _so_ going out of your paycheck!" Chris berated as he rubbed his head.

Justin crawled over to a nearby present and opened it to reveal…a makeup kit. "What the heck am I supposed to do with this?"

"Boy, this isn't the time for a makeover!" Chef mocked.

Before Justin could respond, the monster turned its attention back to him, forcing the model to run back toward the center of The Ring. Exhausted, Justin fell on his stomach and started panting heavily.

Heather took one of the remaining presents, trying to find something that could protect her from the monster. Her eyes grew wide when she heard a faint beeping noise coming from the box. In a brief moment of panic, she threw the present toward the monster.

Justin slowly began to get up. "Hey Chris, how much longer do I have to-"

The model was interrupted when the present detonated in the monster's face, causing the robot to cry out in agony. The monster whipped its tail around in fury. Justin immediately hit the deck to avoid the swinging tail, but Heather wasn't expecting it to come around and was hit with full force. The queen bee flew several feet through the air before landing hard outside of The Ring.

"That's it! It's all over!" Chris announced. "Heather is out! Justin is moving on to the Final Five!"

"YES!" Beth squealed as she ran into the arena to hug Justin.

"Nice win," Courtney congratulated as she helped Justin to his feet.

"I still would have preferred a tie," Duncan said, looking grumpy.

"That was one of the most awesome challenges ever!" Harold exclaimed. "I almost wish I was in on it."

"Trust me Harold, no you don't," Justin replied.

Chris applauded as Chef walked over to the group. "Here's your reward, pretty boy," Chef said as he handed the last Gilded Chris award to Justin.

"Thanks," Justin muttered before collapsing to the ground from fatigue.

Chris walked over to Heather, who was struggling to get up after the rough impact scraped her right leg. "Well Heather, I was hoping you'd last a little longer, but your time is up here."

"Can I just say something before I leave?" Heather asked.

"Yeah, all right," Chris answered with a shrug.

Heather turned to the remaining five contestants. "All right dweebs, listen up. You had your chance to take out the one person that's been messing with this game ever since she got here, and you blew it. I mean, this game is already bad enough from all of the unbelievably difficult challenges that Chris puts us through, but now the ultimate outcome is pretty much out of your hands at this point. How can you guys possibly ignore the weird rule changes, the wacky vote outcomes, and the fact that Courtney received invincibility a week ago without actually doing anything? This is completely insane! In fact, I'm glad I got eliminated fair and square right here, because I know that I'd be ousted by some BS loophole if I stuck around. Now, do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

The other castmates were silent at first, before Courtney decided to speak on their behalf. "I think we've had enough of your wild conspiracy theories. Bye bye, and don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Heather was furious, but she turned around and solemnly marched toward the Lame-o-sine.

"Heh, the Walk of Shame is going to be a _bit_ longer this time around…" Chris commented.

A crew member ran up to the host and whispered into his ear. "Chris, dude, we're running really short on film here."

"All right, I'm gonna end it right here," Chris mumbled back. The crew member ran off screen and Chris turned toward the camera.

"Tonight, we have just witnessed an epic battle, and hopefully there will be several more by season's end. What kinds of challenges remain? Will they be as exhausting as this tiebreaker showdown? Who will come out victorious? Find out next time, but not really, on Total…Drama…Action!"

"And…cut!"

"All right, I'll see you losers later," Chris said to the contestants as he walked back to his trailer.

"…okay, can somebody tell me what the hell Heather's problem is?" Duncan asked as he broke the silence among the remaining competitors.

"I dunno, her claims seem to have some merit," Harold responded.

"Yeah, you're not biased at all," Duncan sarcastically countered.

"Guys, maybe we should hear Courtney's side of the story," Beth intervened. Unfortunately, the CIT had already departed, leaving the wannabe puzzled.

"Wow, that girl can't stay in the same place for more than two seconds," Justin said as he let out a big yawn. "Man, I'm tired."

"Now that I think about it, it does seem like Courtney is tried to avoid us," Harold wondered. Duncan gave him a hard shove in the back in retaliation.

"Don't tell me you're actually buying into Heather's lame excuses!" Duncan yelled.

"Gosh! I was just noting an observation! Why do you have to be so sensitive?"

Duncan stormed away from the group, causing Beth to sigh. "Wow, even though we've just gotten rid of Heather, we're still far from being out of the woods."

* * *

Karl impatiently sat in his automobile, which was parked several spaces away from the Lame-o-sine. Tired of waiting for the eliminated competitor to arrive, he decided to call Lenny.

"Dude, this is taking forever. It would've been much easier if they just did a fire-making challenge to break the tie," Karl complained.

"Quit your complaining. Everyone knows that Chris likes to go over the top with these challenges," Lenny responded.

"Yeah…so how long are you gonna stick around here?"

"I might be here for the rest of the season. I'm expecting a call from the U.S. about the results of Sam's…rather brief investigation of the film lot."

"You mean the one that ended up turning into a broken search-and-rescue mission? Don't remind me."

"Hey, at least now you're involved. You might find something really important in the Aftermath studio."

"Or I might be running around in circles."

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing. Low risk, high reward. There's no reason to back down."

"I'm just afraid of letting the organization down. Getting to the bottom of this scandal is a huge deal for them."

"Of course it is. You, of all people, should know the consequences if we don't flush out the cheater soon."

"Ugh, I've tried really hard to forget about the Winnipeg riot. It's just ridiculous how people can get so worked up over a reality show."

"Sadly, we can't change their nature, but we can prevent a bigger riot from happening."

"I can't even imagine…oh, wait a minute, someone's coming."

Karl shifted over to the passenger's seat to get a better view of the Lame-o-sine. He saw Heather walk out of the film lot and enter the vehicle. "Hah! Heather lost! Suck it, you devious little bi-"

"Quit wasting time talking to me!" Lenny yelled over the phone. "Follow that limo!"

"Right, see you later." Karl hastily hung up and started his car. With a loud screech, he drove off into the city, doing his best to trail the Lame-o-sine as discreetly as possible.

* * *

Votes

**Beth: ** Courtney

**Courtney: **Heather

**Duncan: **Justin

**Harold: **Heather

**Heather: **Justin

**Justin: **Harold

Vote Count

**Heather: **2  
**Justin: **2  
**Courtney: **1  
**Harold: **1

Eliminated: Geoff, Bridgette, Trent, Gwen, DJ, Izzy, Owen, Leshawna, Lindsay, Heather

Remaining: Beth, Courtney, Duncan, Harold, Justin

* * *

**Next Time: **Can't make sense of the recent episode's vote? That's what the upcoming Aftermath is for, now featuring an unprecedented four eliminated contestants!


End file.
